Log inSign up

Anoche estaba sucio, pero el personal lo limpió.

Anoche estaba sucio, pero el personal lo limpió.
Last night it was dirty, but the staff cleaned it.
FromLesson 17inHardcore Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of Anoche estaba sucio, pero el personal lo limpió.

estar
to be
sucio
dirty
limpiar
to clean
lo
it
anoche
last night
pero
but
el personal
the staff

Questions & Answers about Anoche estaba sucio, pero el personal lo limpió.

Why is estaba used instead of fue in “Anoche estaba sucio”?
Because estaba (estar in imperfect) describes a temporary state or condition in the past (“it was dirty last night”). By contrast, fue (ser in preterite) marks a completed event or permanent characteristic. You use estar + imperfect for ongoing or background descriptions.
What does sucio refer to, and why isn’t it sucia?
Sucio is an adjective describing the thing that got cleaned. It must agree in gender and number with that noun. Here, the implied object is masculine singular (for instance, “el piso” or “el coche”), so sucio is masculine. If the object were feminine (“la mesa”), you’d say Anoche estaba sucia.
How do we know what lo refers to in “el personal lo limpió”?
Lo is a masculine singular direct‐object pronoun standing in for the previously mentioned thing that was dirty. If the dirty item is masculine (like el cuarto, el auto, el piso), you replace it with lo. If it were feminine, you’d use la.
Why is el personal treated as singular, and how does that affect the verb?
In Spanish, el personal (“the staff”) is a collective noun viewed as one group, so it takes a singular verb: el personal limpió (not limpiaron). You could also say el personal de limpieza for clarity, still singular.
Could we replace el personal with los empleados or el personal de limpieza?

Yes.

  • Los empleados lo limpiaron uses a plural noun and plural verb. You’d then say los empleados
    • limpiaron
      • lo.
  • El personal de limpieza is more specific but still singular, so you’d keep limpió.
Why is there a comma before pero?
In Spanish, a comma often separates contrasting clauses when you use pero (“but”). It signals a pause between the idea “it was dirty” and “the staff cleaned it.”
Can anoche go somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Spanish word order is flexible. You could say:

  • Estaba sucio anoche, pero el personal lo limpió.
  • El personal lo limpió anoche porque estaba sucio.
    Placing anoche at the start or end just shifts emphasis.
What tense is limpió, and could it change?
Limpió is the preterite of limpiar, used for completed actions in the past (“cleaned it”). You wouldn’t use the imperfect (limpiaba) here, because the cleaning is viewed as a finished event rather than an ongoing background action.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“How does verb conjugation work in Spanish?”
Spanish verbs change form based on the subject, tense, and mood. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns depending on whether they end in ‑ar, ‑er, or ‑ir. For example, "hablar" (to speak) becomes "hablo" (I speak), "hablas" (you speak), and "habla" (he/she speaks) in the present tense.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Spanish

Master Spanish — from Anoche estaba sucio, pero el personal lo limpió to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Spanish freeBrowse the full course