Breakdown of Durante el invierno, la nieve cubre la fuente del parque.
de
of
el parque
the park
durante
during
el invierno
the winter
la fuente
the fountain
la nieve
the snow
cubrir
to cover
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Questions & Answers about Durante el invierno, la nieve cubre la fuente del parque.
Why do we say Durante el invierno instead of Durante invierno? Can we also say En invierno?
Durante is a preposition that must be followed by a full noun phrase, so you need the definite article el before invierno. Saying Durante invierno is ungrammatical. You can, however, say En invierno (“in winter”) to express a similar idea; with en you often drop the article (though en el invierno is also possible but less common).
What part of speech is durante and how does it differ from mientras?
Durante is a preposition meaning “during” or “throughout” and takes a noun (e.g. el invierno). Mientras is a conjunction meaning “while” and must introduce a clause with a verb (e.g. mientras nieva). You can’t say Mientras el invierno because there’s no verb after mientras.
What verb form is cubre? What tense, person, and number?
Cubre is the third-person singular (él/ella/usted) form of cubrir in the present indicative. It literally means “he/she/it covers” or more generally “covers” (habitually or as a fact).
Why don’t we use a preposition like con (with) in la nieve cubre la fuente?
In Spanish, cubrir is a transitive verb, so it takes a direct object without a preposition: you simply say la nieve cubre la fuente. If you want to express a state—“is covered with snow”—you use estar + past participle + de, for example la fuente está cubierta de nieve.
Why is it del parque instead of de el parque, and what does del mean?
Del is the contracted form of de + el, used because parque is masculine and takes el. Del parque means “of the park,” indicating that the fountain belongs to or is part of the park.
Could I say la nieve cubre la fuente en el parque? What’s the nuance between del and en here?
Yes, la nieve cubre la fuente en el parque is grammatically correct. Del parque highlights possession (“the park’s fountain”), while en el parque simply states location (“the fountain located in the park”). The overall meaning is very similar.
How would I express “the fountain is covered with snow” in Spanish?
You’d use the stative or passive-like construction with estar plus participle plus de:
La fuente está cubierta de nieve.
Why are nieve and fuente feminine? How can I know their gender?
Spanish nouns ending in -e or -nte don’t follow a single gender rule, so you must learn each word’s gender. Nieve (snow) and fuente (fountain or source) are both feminine, so they use la in the singular form.
How do you pronounce Durante el invierno, la nieve cubre la fuente del parque?
Approximate phonetic guide:
doo-RAHN-teh el ee-BYEHR-no,
lah NYEH-veh KOO-breh
lah FWEHN-teh del PAHR-keh
Stress falls on the capitalized syllables.