Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): El plástico ligero flota en el agua, por eso lo retiramos del río. - Light plastic floats on water, so we remove it from the river.

In Spanish, some feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a- sound take el instead of la in the singular to avoid the awkward double “a” sound (la agua). Plural and other forms still use las, e.g. las aguas.

What does por eso mean, and how is it different from porque?

Por eso means “for that reason” or “that’s why,” and it introduces a consequence.
Porque means “because,” introducing a cause.
Example: “Llueve, por eso me mojo” (It’s raining, that’s why I’m getting wet) vs “Me mojo porque llueve” (I’m getting wet because it’s raining).

Why is lo retiramos used? What does lo refer to?

Lo is a direct‐object pronoun meaning “it” (masculine). Here it refers back to el plástico ligero. Without repeating el plástico ligero, Spanish replaces it with lo.

Why is ligero placed after plástico? Could we say ligero plástico?

By default, descriptive adjectives follow the noun in Spanish: plástico ligero. Placing ligero before the noun (ligero plástico) is less common and can add emphasis or a poetic tone, but in neutral descriptions you stick to noun + adjective.

Why flota en el agua instead of flota sobre el agua?

Flotar en is the usual collocation: something “floats in water.” Flotar sobre might be understood, but it feels strange because “sobre” emphasizes “on top of,” whereas en already implies buoyancy within the medium.

Why are both flota and retiramos in the present tense? Shouldn’t removal be in the past?

This is the “present of general truth plus habitual action.” It says: “Lightweight plastic floats (in general), so we (habitually) remove it from the river.” If you wanted a one‐time past event, you’d use flotó / retiramos (preterite) or retiramos (past) for both, but here it’s a statement of fact plus regular practice.

Could we replace retiramos with quitamos or sacamos? What’s the difference?

Yes, all three mean “to remove,” but nuance differs:

Retirar implies taking away something unwanted or for cleaning.
Quitar is more general “to take away/off.”
Sacar is “to take out,” often implying movement from inside to outside.
Here retiramos emphasizes “we clear/remove plastic as waste.”

Why is there a comma before por eso? Can it be omitted?

The comma separates the cause clause (flota en el agua) from the result clause (por eso lo retiramos del río). Omitting it is possible in informal writing, but the comma improves clarity.

Why do we use the definite article el plástico ligero rather than no article?

Spanish uses the definite article with general or abstract nouns (e.g., “El aire es limpio aquí”). Saying El plástico ligero flota… presents a general fact about that category of plastic. Without the article (Plástico ligero flota…), the sentence sounds ungrammatical.

Why is de + el contracted into del in del río?

In Spanish, de + el always contracts to del when el is the definite article. It’s a fixed rule: de el → del.