Breakdown of Un gasto inesperado rompió mi presupuesto la semana pasada.
mi
my
la semana
the week
romper
to break
un
a
inesperado
unexpected
el presupuesto
the budget
el gasto
the expense
pasado
last
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Questions & Answers about Un gasto inesperado rompió mi presupuesto la semana pasada.
What does un gasto inesperado mean in English?
It means an unexpected expense. Gasto = expense (something you spend), inesperado = unexpected.
Why is gasto masculine and preceded by un?
In Spanish, nouns ending in -o are usually masculine. Therefore gasto takes the masculine indefinite article un (an).
Why does the adjective inesperado come after the noun, not before?
By default, Spanish adjectives follow the noun they modify. Placing inesperado after gasto is the neutral word order: gasto inesperado.
What tense is rompió, and why is it used here?
Rompió is the third-person singular preterite of romper (“to break”). We use the preterite to describe a completed action in the past: “An unexpected expense broke my budget.”
Could I say me rompió el presupuesto instead of rompió mi presupuesto?
Yes. Me rompió el presupuesto uses the indirect-object pronoun me and the definite article el presupuesto. Both mean “It broke my budget,” but rompió mi presupuesto simply uses the possessive mi.
Why is la semana pasada required, and why is la needed?
Time expressions with units like “week” require the definite article in Spanish. So “last week” is la semana pasada (literally “the week past”).
Why is la semana pasada placed at the end of the sentence?
Spanish allows time expressions in different positions, but placing them at the end is common and stylistically neutral for completed past actions.
Can I use arruinó instead of rompió here?
Yes. Arruinar (“to ruin”) works: Un gasto inesperado arruinó mi presupuesto. Using romper (“to break”) is just a more literal or colloquial way to say the same idea.