Breakdown of El llavero que compraste es fuerte y no se rompe.
ser
to be
tú
you
y
and
que
that
comprar
to buy
romper
to break
se
itself
no
not
fuerte
strong
el llavero
the keychain
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Questions & Answers about El llavero que compraste es fuerte y no se rompe.
Why is it El llavero and not La llavera?
Because llavero is a masculine noun. It’s formed from llave (feminine) + the suffix -ero, which often creates masculine nouns for tools, holders, or containers (e.g., salero, cenicero, monedero). So you use the masculine article el: el llavero.
Does llavero mean keychain or key ring?
Both. In everyday Latin American Spanish, llavero typically covers any small device that holds keys: a ring, a chain, a fob, or a decorative charm with a ring. If someone wants to be specific about a simple ring, you may also hear regional terms like argolla de llaves or anillo de llaves, but llavero is the default.
What is que doing here?
Que is a relative pronoun meaning that/which. It introduces the clause que compraste (that you bought) and links it to el llavero. No accent is used here because it’s not a question word.
Why is there no tú before compraste?
Spanish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the subject. Compraste already tells us it’s second person singular (you). You can add tú for emphasis or contrast: El llavero que tú compraste…
Why the preterite compraste and not the imperfect comprabas?
The preterite (compraste) expresses a completed past action: you bought it (done). The imperfect (comprabas) would suggest an ongoing/habitual action in the past or background description, which doesn’t fit here.
Is El llavero que tú compraste… acceptable?
Yes. It’s correct and adds emphasis/contrast to who did the buying. The unmarked, most common version is without tú: El llavero que compraste…
Why es and not está?
Use ser (es) for inherent or characteristic qualities. Being strong (fuerte) is presented as a general property of the keychain. Estar would suggest a temporary state; for objects you’d use está for conditions like está roto (it’s broken) or está sucio (it’s dirty).
Why no se rompe and not no rompe?
When something breaks on its own (or as a result of normal use), Spanish typically uses the pronominal form romperse: se rompe. The non-pronominal rompe is usually transitive (it breaks something): Rompe el vaso (He/She breaks the glass). Saying no rompe without an object sounds incomplete or means it doesn’t break other things.
What is the se in se rompe?
It’s the pronominal marker used with intransitive or middle-voice uses of certain verbs (like romperse, cerrarse, derramarse) to indicate that the subject undergoes the change: “it breaks.” It’s not reflexive in the literal “it breaks itself” sense; it’s the natural way to say that an object breaks.
Does no se rompe mean “it never breaks” or “it doesn’t break easily”?
By default it states a general property and often implies “it doesn’t break easily.” For more precision:
- Stronger claim: no se rompe nunca / no se romperá.
- Softer claim: no se rompe fácilmente / casi nunca se rompe.
Can I use quebrar(se) instead of romper(se)?
Yes, in much of Latin America quebrar(se) is common, sometimes even more than romper(se) (e.g., parts of Central America). Subtle nuance: quebrar can suggest shattering/snapping, but in many contexts it simply means “to break.” Your sentence can be: …es fuerte y no se quiebra.
Is romper irregular?
Mostly it’s regular. Present: rompo, rompes, rompe… Preterite: rompí, rompiste, rompió… The irregular part is the past participle: roto (not rompido) for compound tenses and as an adjective: se ha roto (it has broken); está roto (it is broken).
Does fuerte change for gender/number? How would this be in plural?
- Gender: fuerte is the same for masculine and feminine.
- Number: plural is fuertes. Plural sentence: Los llaveros que compraste son fuertes y no se rompen.
Why is there no comma before que?
Because que compraste is a restrictive clause specifying which keychain. No commas are used for restrictive relative clauses. With commas, it would be non-restrictive extra info: El llavero, que compraste ayer, es fuerte… (implies there’s only one keychain in context).
Could I use lo que instead of que?
Not here. Lo que means “what/that which” when the antecedent is unspecified: Lo que compraste es fuerte (What you bought is strong). Since you name the antecedent (el llavero), you use que: El llavero que compraste…
How do you pronounce llavero in Latin America?
- In most places with yeísmo: ll sounds like English y: [ya-VE-ro] (the v/b sound is like a soft b in Spanish).
- In Argentina/Uruguay (Rioplatense), ll often sounds like sh/zh: [sha-VE-ro] or [zha-VE-ro]. Stress is on -ve-: lla-VE-ro.
Why doesn’t compraste have an accent, and is comprastes ever correct?
- No accent: compraste follows normal stress rules (ends in a vowel; stress on the second-to-last syllable), so no written accent is needed.
- Comprastes is not standard and should be avoided in formal speech/writing. The correct 2nd person preterite is compraste.