Breakdown of Antes de cruzar la frontera, ya habíamos declarado todos los regalos en la aduana.
en
in
nosotros
we
antes de
before
el regalo
the gift
todos
all
haber
to have
cruzar
to cross
ya
already
la frontera
the border
declarar
to declare
la aduana
the customs
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Questions & Answers about Antes de cruzar la frontera, ya habíamos declarado todos los regalos en la aduana.
Why is antes de followed by the infinitive cruzar instead of a conjugated verb?
In Spanish, when the subject of both actions is the same and you want to express “before doing something,” you use antes de + infinitive. If you include que, you must switch to the subjunctive (e.g., antes de que cruzáramos la frontera).
Could you also say antes de que cruzáramos la frontera here?
Yes. Antes de que always triggers the subjunctive, so you’d say antes de que cruzáramos la frontera. The version with the infinitive is simply shorter and only works when the subject stays the same.
Why is the verb habíamos declarado in the past perfect instead of the simple preterite declaramos?
The pretérito pluscuamperfecto (habíamos declarado) indicates that this action happened before another past action (in this case, cruzar la frontera). Using the simple preterite (declaramos) would just place the action in the past without clarifying the sequence.
What role does ya play in this sentence? Can it be omitted?
Ya emphasizes that the declaration was already completed by the time of crossing. You can remove ya and still be understood, but you lose that nuance of prior completion.
Can ya appear in a different position, like after habíamos or declarado?
Yes. The most common placement is ya habíamos declarado, but you can also say habíamos ya declarado or habíamos declarado ya. Placement before the auxiliary is neutral and frequent.
Why is it en la aduana (“in customs”) instead of a la aduana?
We use en to indicate location (where the action of declaring took place). A la aduana would imply movement toward customs, not the act of declaring at customs.
Why do we use todos los regalos and not todas las regalos?
Regalos is a masculine noun, so todos (masculine plural) is required. Todas would be used for feminine nouns (e.g., todas las cartas).
Is the comma after la frontera necessary?
The comma separates the introductory adverbial phrase (Antes de cruzar la frontera) from the main clause. It isn’t strictly mandatory, especially in informal writing, but it clarifies the pause and improves readability.