Breakdown of Otro relámpago cae detrás de ese rascacielos enorme.
ese
that
otro
another
enorme
enormous
caer
to fall
detrás de
behind
el rascacielos
the skyscraper
el relámpago
the lightning bolt
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Questions & Answers about Otro relámpago cae detrás de ese rascacielos enorme.
Why is there no article before otro relámpago?
otro means “another” or “other one” and acts as a determiner. You don’t add an extra article (you wouldn’t say un otro). It’s equivalent to English “another lightning bolt,” not “a another lightning bolt.”
How does otro agree in gender and number?
otro must match the noun it modifies:
- masculine singular: otro
- feminine singular: otra
- masculine plural: otros
- feminine plural: otras
Here, relámpago is masculine singular, so we use otro.
Why is the verb cae in the present tense? Could it be past?
cae is the present indicative of caer (“to fall”). Spanish often uses the present for actions happening right now (vivid narration) or habitual events. If you want to describe a completed event in the past, you’d use the preterite:
Otro relámpago cayó detrás de ese rascacielos enorme.
What’s the difference between detrás de and tras?
detrás de is a two-word preposition meaning “behind,” always followed by de + noun. tras can also mean “after/behind,” but in everyday spoken Spanish detrás de is more common for describing location.
Why is the adjective enorme placed after the noun? Could I say ese enorme rascacielos?
Neutral descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun in Spanish: rascacielos enorme. You can place it before (ese enorme rascacielos) to emphasise the size or for style. Both orders are grammatically correct; post-nominal is more neutral.
How do we know rascacielos is singular when it ends in -s?
Some Spanish nouns are invariable: singular and plural look the same. Context plus articles or demonstratives indicate number. Here ese is singular masculine, so rascacielos is singular.
Why is ese used instead of este or aquel?
Spanish has three levels of demonstratives:
- este: close to speaker
- ese: mid-distance (or close to listener)
- aquel: far from both
Using ese suggests the skyscraper isn’t right next to the speaker (that would be este) nor very far away (that would be aquel).