Breakdown of Comparto mi manzana con mi amigo y él la disfruta mucho.
yo
I
con
with
mi
my
mucho
a lot
el amigo
the friend
y
and
él
he
compartir
to share
disfrutar
to enjoy
la
it
la manzana
the apple
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Questions & Answers about Comparto mi manzana con mi amigo y él la disfruta mucho.
Why does the sentence use Comparto instead of a present progressive like Estoy compartiendo?
In Spanish, the simple present tense often covers both the English “I share” and “I am sharing.”
- Comparto translates as either “I share” (habitual) or “I am sharing” (right now).
- You can say Estoy compartiendo mi manzana… to stress the ongoing action, but native speakers frequently prefer the simple present for current activities.
Why is it con mi amigo and not simply mi amigo?
The verb compartir requires a preposition to introduce the person you share with:
- Compartir algo con alguien → to share something with someone.
- Omitting con would leave the verb without its required complement and sound ungrammatical.
Why do we say mi manzana instead of la manzana or una manzana?
- Mi manzana specifies that it’s my apple (possessive).
- La manzana would mean “the apple” (definite) without indicating whose it is.
- Una manzana means “an apple” (indefinite) – you’d lose the idea that it’s your particular apple.
What is the function of the pronoun la in él la disfruta mucho, and why is it placed before the verb?
- La is a direct object pronoun replacing mi manzana (feminine, singular).
- Spanish pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.
- With a conjugated verb like disfruta, pronouns must go before the verb:
• él la disfruta (correct)
• él disfruta la (incorrect placement in standard Spanish)
Why is the subject pronoun él included here when Spanish usually omits subject pronouns?
Subject pronouns in Spanish are often dropped because the verb ending already indicates the subject. However, you include él for:
- Emphasis (“he, not someone else, really enjoys it”).
- Clarity in contexts with multiple people/actions.
- It’s not required, but perfectly acceptable.
What’s the difference between disfrutar and gustar for expressing enjoyment?
- Disfrutar (transitive verb):
• You enjoy something directly—él disfruta la manzana = “he enjoys the apple.” - Gustar (impersonal construction):
• You say something pleases you—él gusta de la manzana or more idiomatically la manzana le gusta = “he likes the apple.” - Disfrutar generally conveys a stronger, more active sense of enjoyment.
Do we need the preposition de after disfrutar, as in disfrutar de?
- Both forms exist:
• Disfrutar algo (transitive; common in Latin America)
• Disfrutar de algo (intransitive + preposition; also correct) - In our sentence, él la disfruta is fully acceptable. If you prefer de, you’d say él disfruta de mi manzana, but then you’d drop the direct object pronoun la.
Where does mucho go, and can we use muchísimo?
- Mucho modifies the verb disfruta, so it naturally follows the verb: él la disfruta mucho (“he enjoys it a lot”).
- You cannot place mucho before the pronoun (él disfruta mucho la is incorrect).
- To intensify, use muchísimo: él la disfruta muchísimo = “he enjoys it very much.”