Word
Después de cenar, aplicaré otra capa de esmalte para que brille más.
Meaning
After dinner, I will apply another layer of nail polish so it shines more.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Breakdown of Después de cenar, aplicaré otra capa de esmalte para que brille más.
yo
I
de
of
más
more
después de
after
cenar
to have dinner
otro
another
para que
so that
brillar
to shine
aplicar
to apply
el esmalte
the nail polish
la capa
the layer
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Questions & Answers about Después de cenar, aplicaré otra capa de esmalte para que brille más.
Why do we say Después de cenar instead of Después cenar?
In Spanish, when you want to say “after doing something,” you use después de + infinitive. The de is required. Omitting it (Después cenar) is ungrammatical.
Is cenar here a noun or a verb? It looks like “dinner.”
Here cenar is a verb in the infinitive form meaning “to have dinner.” In Spanish, verbs in infinitive can follow prepositions (like de) just like English gerunds (“after eating”).
Why use the simple future aplicaré instead of voy a aplicar?
Spanish has two main ways to talk about the future:
- Futuro simple (aplicaré): more formal, single-word form.
- Ir a + infinitive (voy a aplicar): more conversational and common in speech. Both are correct; the writer chose aplicaré for a slightly more formal tone.
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like yo before aplicaré?
Spanish verbs carry person and number information in their endings. Aplicaré already tells you the subject is “I” (yo). Including yo is redundant unless you want to emphasize the subject.
What does otra capa de esmalte literally mean, and how is it built?
Literally it’s “another layer of enamel/varnish.”
- otra = another
- capa = layer/coating
- de = of
- esmalte = enamel, varnish, or nail polish
Together they describe applying an additional coating of that substance.
Why do we use para que + brille (subjunctive) instead of an infinitive?
- Para que expresses purpose (“so that…”).
- When the subject of the main clause (yo) is different from the subject of the subordinate clause (la capa de esmalte is the one that will shine), Spanish requires the subjunctive.
Hence para que brille rather than para que brilla.
Could you have used para brillar más instead of para que brille más?
Only if the subject stays the same.
- Para brillar más (“in order to shine more”) would imply I will shine more.
- Para que brille más makes it clear that the coat/varnish is the thing that’s shining more.
Why is it brille más and not más brilla or brillará más?
- Word order: In Spanish verbs normally come before adverbs, so brille más (“shine more”).
- Tense/mood: After para que you need subjunctive (brille), not future indicative (brillará).
Is esmalte only used for nails?
No. Esmalte can refer to:
- Nail polish (esmalte de uñas)
- Enamel paint used on metal or ceramics
In context, it could be nail polish (if you’re painting nails) or any glossy coating.
Why do we say capa de esmalte instead of capa en esmalte?
The preposition de indicates “what something is made of” or “what it contains.”
- Capa de esmalte = a layer made of enamel/varnish.
Using en would mean “a layer inside the enamel,” which doesn’t make sense here.