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El banco aprobó mi préstamo ayer y ahora puedo comprar el equipo.

El banco aprobó mi préstamo ayer y ahora puedo comprar el equipo.
The bank approved my loan yesterday, and now I can buy the equipment.
FromLesson 20inHardcore Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El banco aprobó mi préstamo ayer y ahora puedo comprar el equipo.

Why is the verb aprobó in the preterite tense instead of the present perfect?
In Latin American Spanish, the preterite (pretérito) is used for actions completed at a specific point in the past (here, ayer). The present perfect (ha aprobado) generally isn’t used with definite time expressions like ayer.
Could we say “El banco ha aprobado mi préstamo ayer”?
No. In Spanish you cannot combine the present perfect with a specific past time marker like ayer. Use the preterite: “El banco aprobó mi préstamo ayer.”
Why does ayer come after the verb instead of at the beginning of the sentence?
Spanish word order is flexible. Placing ayer after the verb is perfectly idiomatic (“El banco aprobó mi préstamo ayer”), but you could also say “Ayer el banco aprobó mi préstamo.” The meaning remains the same.
Why is it mi préstamo and not “un préstamo” or “el mi préstamo”?
When you use a possessive adjective (mi, tu, su, etc.), Spanish does not combine it with an indefinite or definite article. So you say mi préstamo, not el mi préstamo. You could use “un préstamo” if you weren’t specifying that it’s yours.
Why is there a definite article in comprar el equipo? Can it be omitted?
Spanish often uses the definite article before a noun when the speaker has something specific in mind. Here the speaker refers to a particular piece of equipment they plan to buy. You could say comprar equipo to speak more generally (“buy equipment”), but with el equipo you mean that specific item.
What does equipo mean here? Isn’t that “team”?
Equipo can mean “team,” but in this context it means “equipment” or “machinery.” The intended sense is “I can buy the (specific) equipment” now that the loan was approved.
Why is puedo in the present tense instead of a future like “podré”?
The speaker is expressing a current ability or permission: “now I can buy.” Using the simple present puedo conveys that right now they have the capacity/funding. Podré (future) would imply something like “I will be able to buy at some point” rather than “I can buy now.”
Could we move ahora to a different position: e.g. “y puedo ahora comprar el equipo”?
Yes, Spanish allows flexibility: “y ahora puedo comprar el equipo,” “y puedo comprar el equipo ahora,” or “y puedo ahora comprar el equipo” are all grammatically correct. The nuance is minimal; native speakers choose the order that sounds most natural to them.
Why does préstamo have an accent mark?
Préstamo is an esdrújula (proparoxytone) word: the stress falls on the antepenultimate syllable (PRE-sta-mo). In Spanish, all esdrújulas carry a written accent on the stressed syllable.
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“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.

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