Un tiburón nada rápido en el mar.

A shark swims fast in the sea.

Breakdown of Un tiburón nada rápido en el mar.

• en: in
• nadar: to swim
• el mar: the sea
• rápido: fast

Questions & Answers about Un tiburón nada rápido en el mar.

What does nada mean in this sentence?

Here nada is the third-person singular form of the verb nadar, meaning “(he/she/it) swims.” It is not the word nada meaning “nothing.” Context and capitalization (verbs are not capitalized in mid-sentence) help you tell them apart.

Why is rápido used instead of rápidamente?

Spanish often allows an adjective like rápido to function adverbially after a verb (similar to “he runs fast” in English). Rápidamente is also correct and more formal; it’s an adverb formed with -mente. Using rápido is shorter and very common in speech.

Why is there no subject pronoun él before nada?

Spanish is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are optional because the verb ending already indicates the subject. Nada ends in -a, signaling third-person singular. Adding él is possible for emphasis (“Él nada rápido…”), but it’s not needed.

Why do we say en el mar instead of just en mar?

Spanish uses definite articles (el, la, los, las) before most geographic features: el mar, la montaña, los Andes. Omitting the article sounds unnatural here.