Questions & Answers about Mañana compro una computadora portátil en la tienda.
Why is mañana at the beginning of the sentence? Could it mean “morning” instead of “tomorrow”?
In Spanish, mañana can mean both “tomorrow” and “morning.” Placed before the verb without further context, it almost always means “tomorrow.” If you wanted to say “in the morning,” you’d usually add por la and repeat mañana – for example, mañana por la mañana. Beginning a sentence with a time adverb is common to set the time frame right away.
What tense and person is compro, and why don’t we use the future tense compraré?
Compro is the first-person singular present indicative of comprar. Spanish speakers often use the simple present to talk about near-future plans when a time expression (like mañana) is present. It sounds more immediate and conversational. Using compraré (the future tense) is grammatically correct too, but it can feel more formal or detached.
Why do we say una computadora portátil instead of un portátil computadora?
Spanish typically places descriptive adjectives after the noun: computadora (noun) + portátil (adjective). Also, computadora is feminine in Latin America, so it takes the feminine article una. In Spain you might hear ordenador portátil, but word order (noun + adjective) stays the same.
Why is computadora feminine? Is there a masculine form?