Breakdown of Sin ese recurso natural, la ciudad no tendría suficiente energía.
tener
to have
la ciudad
the city
ese
that
la energía
the energy
sin
without
no
not
suficiente
enough
el recurso
the resource
natural
natural
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Questions & Answers about Sin ese recurso natural, la ciudad no tendría suficiente energía.
Why is sin used directly before the noun without de, while in English we say “without”?
In Spanish sin is a simple preposition that means “without.” It never combines with de. So the structure is always sin + noun (e.g. sin ese recurso), not sin de.
Why use the demonstrative ese instead of este or aquel?
Demonstratives in Spanish mark distance or context.
- este = close to the speaker
- ese = near the listener or mentioned before
- aquel = far from both
Here ese recurso natural refers to a resource already mentioned or understood, so ese is the neutral choice.
Why does natural come after recurso? In English we say “natural resource.”
Most Spanish adjectives follow the noun they describe. So you say recurso natural (noun + adjective) rather than natural recurso.
Why is tendría (conditional) used instead of a simple future like tendrá?
The conditional tense (tendría) expresses a hypothetical or unreal situation: “without that resource, the city would not have enough energy.” A future tense (tendrá) states a prediction, not a counterfactual.
Could we use habría instead of tendría (i.e. no habría suficiente energía)?
Yes. No habría suficiente energía is also correct. It uses the impersonal haber to state “there would not be enough energy.” The nuance:
- tendría focuses on what the city “would have”
- habría focuses on the existence of energy itself.
Why is suficiente placed before energía, when most adjectives come after the noun?
Quantity adjectives like suficiente, mucho, poco, bastante usually go before the noun. That’s why it’s suficiente energía, not energía suficiente (though the latter can appear with different emphasis).
Could you say la ciudad no tendría la suficiente energía instead of leaving out the article before suficiente energía?
Yes. Adding the article (la suficiente energía) is possible and often emphasizes “the enough energy.” Both forms are grammatical:
- no tendría suficiente energía (common)
- no tendría la suficiente energía (more emphatic)
Why is there a definite article la before ciudad?
In Spanish, when referring to a specific city known from context, you use the definite article: la ciudad. English often drops “the” in similar cases, but Spanish keeps it: la casa, el país, etc.