Breakdown of Nuestro ahorro crece poco a poco.
nuestro
our
poco a poco
little by little
crecer
to grow
el ahorro
the savings
Questions & Answers about Nuestro ahorro crece poco a poco.
Why is it nuestro ahorro and not nuestros ahorros?
In Spanish ahorro is often treated as an uncountable (mass) noun when you talk about “savings” in general. You say el ahorro to refer collectively to what you’ve set aside. If you wanted to emphasize separate amounts or different kinds of savings you could say nuestros ahorros, but in everyday usage ahorro (singular) is more natural.
Why is it nuestro and not nuestra?
Possessive adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Since ahorro is a masculine noun (el ahorro), you use the masculine form nuestro, not nuestra.
Why isn’t there an article before nuestro ahorro, like el nuestro ahorro?
When you use a possessive adjective (mi, tu, nuestro, su, etc.), you normally drop the definite article. So you say nuestro ahorro, not el nuestro ahorro. Adding el would sound redundant or overly emphatic.
Why does the verb end in -e (crece) instead of -en (crecen)?
The verb crece is the third-person singular form of crecer in the present tense. Your subject is nuestro ahorro, which is singular, so you use crece. If the subject were plural (e.g., nuestros ahorros), you would say crecen.
What tense is crece? Could you use a different tense or aspect?
Crece is the simple present tense, used for habitual or general truths (“it grows,” “it increases”). You could also say:
- Está creciendo (present progressive) = “it is growing”
- Crecerá (future) = “it will grow”
- Creció (preterite) = “it grew”
But crece emphasizes an ongoing, repeated process.
What does poco a poco mean? Why not just poco?
Poco a poco is an idiomatic adverbial phrase meaning “little by little” or “gradually.” Poco alone means “a little” or “few,” but it doesn’t convey the gradual, step-by-step idea that poco a poco does.
Can I replace crece with another verb like sube or aumenta?
Yes.
- nuestro ahorro sube poco a poco (“our savings go up little by little”)
- nuestro ahorro aumenta poco a poco (“our savings increase little by little”)
All are correct; crecer stresses growth, subir focuses on rising, and aumentar highlights an increase in quantity.
How do you pronounce crece? Where is the stress?
Crece is pronounced [ˈkɾe-se]. The stress falls on the first syllable CRE-. In Latin America, the c before e is an “s” sound, so it’s /ˈkɾe.se/.
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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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