Breakdown of Aunque parezca perezoso, este animal nadará rápido si necesita cruzar el río.
este
this
si
if
necesitar
to need
nadar
to swim
rápido
fast
aunque
although
parecer
to seem
cruzar
to cross
el animal
the animal
el río
the river
perezoso
lazy
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Questions & Answers about Aunque parezca perezoso, este animal nadará rápido si necesita cruzar el río.
Why is parezca in the subjunctive form instead of the indicative?
Because after aunque when you express a concession about something uncertain, hypothetical or merely apparent, Spanish uses the subjunctive. Here you’re conceding “even if it seems lazy,” not stating it certainly does.
Could I use the indicative and say aunque parece perezoso? What changes?
Yes. Aunque parece perezoso (indicative) suggests you’re quite sure it looks lazy; you’re stating that apparent laziness as fact. Aunque parezca perezoso (subjunctive) leaves it as a hypothetical or general impression.
Why is the future tense nadará used here? Could we use va a nadar instead?
The simple future nadará expresses what the animal will do when the condition is met. You can replace it with the periphrastic future va a nadar (e.g. este animal va a nadar rápido si necesita cruzar el río) and still be correct—just a slightly different nuance (near future vs. neutral future).
Why is rápido used instead of rápidamente?
In everyday spoken Spanish, adjectives like rápido often function as adverbs of manner. Rápidamente is more formal or literary. Both are grammatically correct, but Latin American Spanish speakers commonly say nadará rápido.
How does the conditional clause si necesita cruzar el río work? What type of conditional is this?
This is a first-condition (“real”) clause: present indicative in the si-clause (si necesita) + simple future in the main clause (nadará). It expresses a likely or real possibility: “If it needs to cross, it will swim quickly.”
Why is the infinitive cruzar used after necesita? Could you use a conjugated verb instead?
After verbs like necesitar when they mean “to need to do something,” Spanish uses an infinitive: necesita cruzar = “it needs to cross.” You cannot say necesita que cruza; if you switch to a subordinate clause, you’d need the subjunctive: necesita que cruce el río.
What role does este play in este animal? Can it be omitted?
Este is a demonstrative adjective specifying “this animal” (near speaker). If you drop it and just say el animal, you lose the emphasis on “this particular one.” You could also say este alone as a pronoun: éste nadará rápido… but here we keep animal for clarity.
Why is there a comma after the aunque clause?
When a subordinate clause (like aunque parezca perezoso) comes at the beginning of a sentence, Spanish normally uses a comma to separate it from the main clause (este animal nadará rápido…). It helps readability.
Why does rápido have an accent on the first a?
Rápido is a two-syllable word stressed on the first syllable (a-ci-da). Spanish rules require an acute accent on the á because it’s an llana (stress on second-to-last syllable) ending in a vowel.
Could I reorder the sentence and say si necesita cruzar el río, este animal nadará rápido? Does anything change?
Yes, you can swap the clauses without changing the meaning. Spanish allows Si necesita cruzar el río, este animal nadará rápido. No comma is needed if the main clause follows, but it’s also acceptable to include one for clarity.