Lavo el vaso con agua fría.

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Breakdown of Lavo el vaso con agua fría.

• con: with
• lavar: to wash
• el agua: the water

Questions & Answers about Lavo el vaso con agua fría.

Why is there no yo (I) at the beginning of the sentence to indicate the subject?

Spanish verbs are conjugated to show who performs the action. Here, lavo already tells you the subject is “I” (first person). Including yo is optional and would only be for emphasis or contrast.

What does lavo mean, and how is it formed?

Lavo is the first-person singular present tense of the verb lavar (“to wash”). The ending -o signals that the subject is “I,” so lavo literally means “I wash.”

Why do we say el vaso instead of un vaso?

Using el (“the”) indicates you’re talking about a specific glass—perhaps the one you just used. If you said un vaso, it would mean “a glass” in general, not one in particular.

Why is it con agua fría and not en agua fría or con el agua fría?

• con expresses the means or tool: “with cold water.”
• We drop the article before agua fría because you’re referring to some cold water in general (an uncountable amount), not a specific water.
• en agua fría would imply the glass is sitting “in” cold water, rather than you washing it using cold water.

Why is the adjective fría placed after the noun ?