Mi abuelo explica la historia de su vida con paciencia.

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Breakdown of Mi abuelo explica la historia de su vida con paciencia.

• de: of
• su: his
• explicar: to explain

Questions & Answers about Mi abuelo explica la historia de su vida con paciencia.

Why is it explica and not explicas or explico?

Because the verb explicar (to explain) is conjugated to match the subject mi abuelo (my grandfather), which is third person singular (he).

Present tense of explicar (regular -ar verb):

• yo explico – I explain
• tú explicas – you explain (informal)
• él / ella / usted explica – he / she / you (formal) explain
• nosotros explicamos – we explain
• ellos / ellas / ustedes explican – they / you all explain

Since mi abuelo = él (he), you must use explica.

Does explica mean “is explaining” or “explains”? How does the Spanish present tense work here?

In Spanish, the simple present explica can cover both:

• He explains (habitual, general truth)
• He is explaining (right now, in context)

So Mi abuelo explica la historia de su vida con paciencia could mean:

• He usually explains the story of his life patiently, or
• He is currently explaining it patiently, depending on context.

If you really want to emphasize “right now”, you can use the progressive:

• Mi abuelo está explicando la historia de su vida con paciencia.