Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Caminamos por el bosque denso.

Caminamos has the same form in the present indicative (we walk) and the preterite simple past (we walked). Without extra context it’s ambiguous. To clarify, add a time phrase: • Hoy caminamos por el bosque denso → present (“Today we walk…”)
• Ayer caminamos por el bosque denso → past (“Yesterday we walked…”)

Why isn’t nosotros included before caminamos?

In Spanish, subject pronouns like nosotros/nosotras are optional because the verb ending -amos already tells you it’s first-person plural. Adding nosotros is redundant unless you want to emphasize or contrast: • Nosotros caminamos por el bosque, pero ellos corren.

Why is por used here? Could I use para, en or a través de instead?

Use por to express movement through or along a place (“through the forest”).
• Para indicates purpose or destination, not movement through.
• En marks location without emphasizing “passing through.”
• A través de also means “across/through,” but sounds more formal or literal:
Caminamos a través del bosque denso (we literally go from one side to the other).

Why do we say por el bosque instead of por bosque?

Spanish generally requires the definite article before singular and plural nouns when referring to a concrete or general place. Omitting el (por bosque) sounds unnatural. You’ll almost always hear por el bosque in standard speech.

Why is the adjective denso placed after bosque instead of before?

The neutral word order in Spanish is noun + adjective: bosque denso. Placing an adjective before the noun (el denso bosque) is possible but gives a more poetic or dramatic tone.

How do I know that bosque is masculine? Could it ever be bosca?

Many Spanish nouns ending in -e don’t follow a strict pattern and must be memorized. Bosque is always masculine, so you pair it with masculine articles and adjectives: el bosque, bosque denso, un bosque. There is no feminine form bosca.

Can I use andar instead of caminar here? What’s the difference?

Both caminar and andar can mean “to walk,” but:
• Caminar specifically means “to walk on foot.”
• Andar is more general (you can also andar en bici, andar en coche) and feels slightly more informal.
You could say Andamos por el bosque denso and the meaning remains essentially the same.

How do you pronounce bosque denso?

Break it into syllables and stress the bolded parts:
• BOS-que → sounds like “boss-keh”
• DEN-so → sounds like “den-soh”
In IPA it’s [ˈbos.ke ˈden.so].

Are there other ways to say “dense forest” in Spanish?

Yes. Common synonyms for denso in this context include espeso, frondoso and tupido. For example:
• bosque espeso
• bosque frondoso (emphasizes a lot of leaves/branches)
• bosque tupido
Each highlights slightly different aspects of thickness or lushness.