Question 1

Why is hoy used at the beginning of the sentence? Is it necessary?

Accepted Answer

Hoy simply means “today” and places the action in a time frame. You don’t always have to put hoy at the start— you could say “La temperatura hoy bajó un grado,” but beginning with hoy is more common to emphasize “as for today.”

Question 2

Why is bajó in the simple past (preterite) and not in the present tense?

Accepted Answer

The preterite form bajó indicates that the temperature “dropped” at a specific moment in the past (today). If you said baja, it would mean “the temperature drops” as a general fact or habit, not that it already happened.

Question 3

Why do we say un grado instead of uno grado?

Accepted Answer

Before a masculine noun you use the short form un instead of uno. Since grado is masculine, you say un grado. Uno on its own is used as a pronoun (“one of them”) or after a verb (“quiero uno”).

Question 4

What gender is temperatura, and why is there an article la?

Accepted Answer

Temperatura is feminine in Spanish, so it takes the feminine definite article la. You always need an article before most singular, countable nouns when you’re talking about a specific thing: la temperatura (“the temperature”).

Question 5

What does bajar mean here? Could I use descender?

Accepted Answer

In weather contexts, bajar means “to go down” or “to drop.” It’s the most common verb for temperature changes. Descender is more formal and less common in everyday speech, though it’s not wrong: “La temperatura descendió un grado.”

Question 6

Why does the sentence use sentir frío instead of tener frío?

Accepted Answer

Both expressions exist. Sentir frío literally means “to feel cold,” focusing on the sensation. Tener frío literally means “to have cold,” but idiomatically “to be cold.” In everyday speech, people often say tengo frío, but sienten frío is also perfectly natural and slightly more descriptive.

Question 7

Could we say todos tienen frío instead of todos sienten frío?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Todos tienen frío is very common and means “everyone is cold.” Todos sienten frío has the nuance “everyone feels cold,” emphasizing the physical sensation more than the state.

Question 8

Why is there no article before frío in sienten frío?

Accepted Answer

When cold functions as a sensation or state in verbs like sentir or tener, you do not use an article: sienten frío, tienen sueño, sienten hambre. If you used frío as a noun in another context (e.g., el frío del invierno), you would include an article.

Hoy la temperatura bajó un grado y todos sienten frío.

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