Breakdown of Después de correr, pongo hielo en la rodilla para reducir la hinchazón.
yo
I
en
in
después de
after
correr
to run
para
for
poner
to put
reducir
to reduce
el hielo
the ice
la rodilla
the knee
la hinchazón
the swelling
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Spanish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Después de correr, pongo hielo en la rodilla para reducir la hinchazón.
What does después de correr mean and how is it formed?
Después de + infinitive literally means “after doing something.” Here después de is followed by the infinitive correr (“to run”) to express that one action happens immediately after another.
Example: Después de comer, me lavo los dientes. (“After eating, I brush my teeth.”)
Why does the sentence use pongo hielo instead of another verb?
Spanish uses poner (“to put”) when you place or apply something. So pongo hielo is “I put ice.” In a more formal or medical register you might also hear aplicar hielo or colocar hielo, but in everyday speech poner hielo is most common.
Why is it en la rodilla instead of omitting the article or using a possessive?
In Spanish, body parts normally take a definite article rather than a possessive pronoun. So instead of “my knee,” you say la rodilla and the context makes clear it’s your own. You could say me pongo hielo en la rodilla (“I put ice on my knee”) or specify la rodilla derecha if you need to be more precise.
Could you say rodillas in the plural? Why is it singular here?
You use singular (rodilla) when you mean one specific knee. If you wanted to ice both, you’d say hielo en las rodillas. Here the speaker is referring to a single injured or swollen knee.
What role does para reducir la hinchazón play in the sentence?
Para + infinitive expresses purpose or goal. So para reducir la hinchazón means “in order to reduce the swelling.” It answers “why” you put ice on your knee.
Is there any difference between hinchazón and inflamación?
Both words can mean “swelling,” but:
- Hinchazón is more informal and very common in everyday speech.
- Inflamación sounds more medical or technical.
You can use them interchangeably in many contexts, though doctors often prefer inflamación.
How do you pronounce hinchazón, and why does it have an accent?
Hinchazón is pronounced in Latin American Spanish roughly as een-cha-SON (IPA: /in.tʃaˈson/). The accent on the ó tells you the stress falls on the last syllable. Without the accent it would follow standard stress rules and be mispronounced.