La tinta invisible no mancha la ropa.

Invisible ink does not stain clothes.

Breakdown of La tinta invisible no mancha la ropa.

• la ropa: the clothes
• no: not
• la tinta: the ink
• manchar: to stain
• invisible: invisible

Questions & Answers about La tinta invisible no mancha la ropa.

Why is the adjective invisible placed after tinta and not before?

In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun they modify. Saying tinta invisible is the normal order for “invisible ink.”

• You can put some adjectives before the noun (e.g. la blanca nieve for poetic effect), but the default descriptive order is tinta
  • adjetivo.

Why do we say la ropa and not ropa or las ropas?

• Definite article (la): Spanish uses the definite article with nouns when speaking in general about a whole category (generic reference).
• Singular (ropa): ropa is an uncountable noun (“clothing” in general), so it normally stays singular.
• las ropas is unusual—it would suggest different “sets of clothes” and is rarely used.

Why is the negative particle no placed before the verb mancha?

In Spanish, you form a simple negation by placing no directly before the conjugated verb: “La tinta invisible no mancha la ropa.”
You do not move no to the end or double up unless you add words like nada (“nothing”): “La tinta no mancha nada la ropa” (it doesn’t stain the clothes at all).

What person and number is mancha, and why isn’t there an -s at the end like in English?

mancha is the third-person singular present indicative form of manchar (to stain).
Conjugation of manchar in present tense:
yo mancho
tú manchas
él/ella/usted mancha
nosotros manchamos
vosotros mancháis
ellos/ustedes manchan

English adds -s for third-person (he stains); Spanish adds -a for él/ella.

Why is the noun tinta feminine, and how do we know to use la?

Spanish nouns ending in -a are generally feminine. The accompanying article must match in gender and number: la tinta (feminine, singular)
If it were masculine you’d use el, but because tinta ends in -a, it’s feminine.

Does the adjective invisible change with gender or number?

• Gender: Adjectives ending in -e (like invisible) are the same for masculine and feminine.
• Number: They do take an -s in the plural: • singular: tinta invisible
  • plural: tintas invisibles

Why is there no personal a before la ropa?

Spanish uses the preposition a before direct objects only when they are specific persons or pet animals. Since la ropa (clothes) is neither a person nor a pet, no a is needed.

Why is the present tense used here instead of, say, the preterite?

The present simple in Spanish often expresses general truths or characteristics. “La tinta invisible no mancha la ropa” means “Invisible ink does not (in general) stain clothes.” The preterite (no manchó) would refer to a specific past event, which isn’t what we want here.