Breakdown of Trae tu botella de agua al parque.
de
of
el parque
the park
a
to
tu
your
el agua
the water
la botella
the bottle
Trae
Bring
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Questions & Answers about Trae tu botella de agua al parque.
What does trae mean in this sentence and why is it used here?
trae is the affirmative tú command of the verb traer (to bring). It tells someone directly to bring something. In Spanish you form an affirmative tú command by taking the tú present indicative form (tú traes) and dropping the final s, yielding trae.
Why is it tu without an accent? How is that different from tú?
In Spanish, tu (no accent) is a possessive adjective meaning your, used before a noun (here botella). Tú (with an accent) is the subject pronoun you. The accent mark distinguishes them: tu botella = your bottle, while tú traes = you bring.
Why do we say al parque instead of a el parque?
In Spanish, al is the contraction of a + el. You always contract these two when “el” follows the preposition a. So a + el parque becomes al parque. (You do NOT contract a la or a las.)
Why is it botella de agua and not botella del agua or botella con agua?
When indicating the content of a container, Spanish uses de without an article: botella de agua (bottle of water). You don’t use del because that would mean “of the water” (with a definite article). You can say botella con agua (bottle with water), but botella de agua is the standard way to describe what it contains.
What’s the difference between traer and llevar? Could I say Lleva tu botella de agua al parque?
Both mean “to take/bring,” but:
• traer implies motion toward the place where the speaker (or listener) is, or where you’ll be.
• llevar implies motion away from the speaker toward another place.
If you (the speaker) consider the park as your shared destination, you’d say Trae. If you’re telling someone to take it someplace else (where you’re not), you might choose Lleva. Both are grammatically correct; the choice depends on perspective.
Is there a formal way to say this command? How would you tell someone politely or in a formal context?
Yes. For a formal usted command, use the third-person singular present subjunctive of traer, which is traiga. So you would say:
Traiga su botella de agua al parque.
Can I change the word order? For instance, Trae al parque tu botella de agua?
Spanish allows some flexibility, but the most natural order is:
- Verb (Trae)
- Direct object (tu botella de agua)
- Destination (al parque)
You could say Trae al parque tu botella de agua, but it sounds less fluid. Moving al parque to the front places extra emphasis on the destination, which isn’t wrong but is less common in everyday speech.