Breakdown of Cuando discuto con mi hermano, intento comprender su razón antes de responder.
Questions & Answers about Cuando discuto con mi hermano, intento comprender su razón antes de responder.
Spanish uses a conjugated verb after cuando when you’re talking about real, habitual situations.
- Cuando discuto con mi hermano = When I argue with my brother (in general, whenever that happens).
- The verb discuto is present indicative, 1st person singular of discutir.
The subjunctive cuando discuta is used more for a specific future or hypothetical situation:
- Cuando discuta con mi hermano, intentaré estar más tranquilo.
(When I argue with my brother (next time / in the future), I will try to be calmer.)
Cuando discutir is incorrect here because after cuando you need a finite (conjugated) verb, not the infinitive.
Discutir is a bit tricky because it looks like to discuss, but its most common meaning in everyday Spanish is closer to to argue / to have an argument.
- discutir un tema – to discuss a topic (more neutral/formal).
- discutir con alguien – to argue with someone, to have a disagreement.
In this sentence:
- Cuando discuto con mi hermano = When I argue with my brother (or when I have an argument with my brother), not just calmly “discuss”.
If you want a clearly non‑conflictive idea of “discuss / talk about,” you can also use verbs like hablar, conversar, or platicar (widely used in Latin America):
- Cuando hablo con mi hermano… – When I talk with my brother…
The verb discutir normally combines with con when the idea is arguing with someone:
- discutir con alguien – to argue with someone.
- discutir algo con alguien – to argue/discuss something with someone.
So:
- discuto con mi hermano = I argue with my brother.
Using a (discuto a mi hermano) would be incorrect here, because a usually marks a direct object that is a person (e.g. veo a mi hermano – I see my brother), but with discutir, the natural preposition for the person you’re arguing with is con.
Because in this sentence intento is a verb (intentar), not a noun.
- intentar + infinitive = to try to do something
→ intento comprender = I try to understand.
You only use intento de when intento is a noun meaning “attempt”:
- Hizo un intento de comprender a su hermano.
He made an attempt to understand his brother.
So:
- Verb: intento comprender (no de).
- Noun: un intento de comprender (with de).
Both are correct and very common in Latin American Spanish:
- intento comprender – I try to understand.
- trato de comprender – I try to understand.
Differences:
- intentar + infinitive (no de):
Intento comprender su razón. - tratar de + infinitive (always with de):
Trato de comprender su razón.
In everyday speech, they are often interchangeable. Some speakers feel tratar de can sometimes sound a bit more “effortful” (as in making an effort), but in many contexts there is no practical difference here.
In modern everyday Spanish, comprender and entender are near‑synonyms, and in this sentence you could use either:
- intento comprender su razón
- intento entender su razón
Both mean I try to understand his reasoning / point of view.
Subtle tendencies:
- entender is slightly more common in colloquial speech.
- comprender can sound a bit more formal, or can suggest a deeper, more complete understanding, but this is not a strict rule.
In Latin America, you will hear both verbs very frequently.
Literally:
- razón = reason, rationale.
- su razón = his/her reason, his/her logic / way of seeing things.
In this context, comprender su razón means something like:
- to understand his reasoning / his point of view.
You could also say comprender sus razones (his reasons, plural), which is very common and maybe a bit more natural in many contexts:
- Intento comprender sus razones antes de responder.
I try to understand his reasons before replying.
Both su razón (singular) and sus razones (plural) are grammatically correct. The singular focuses more on his overall logic / viewpoint, while the plural focuses on the individual reasons he has.
Note: this is related to the idiom tener razón = to be right:
- Él tiene razón. – He is right.
After antes used as a preposition, Spanish requires de + infinitive:
- antes de + infinitive = before doing something.
- antes de responder = before answering / before replying.
So:
- ✅ antes de responder – correct.
- ❌ antes responder – incorrect (missing de).
- ❌ antes que responder – incorrect in this structure.
There is also a different structure with a full clause:
- antes de que + subjunctive
Intento comprender su razón antes de que él responda.
I try to understand his reasoning before he answers.
Difference:
- antes de responder – same subject as the main verb (I try / I respond).
- antes de que responda – typically introduces a different subject (or at least a separate clause) and uses the subjunctive.
Spanish verb endings show the subject, so the subject pronoun is often dropped when it’s clear from context.
- discuto – 1st person singular, present: I argue.
- intento – 1st person singular, present: I try.
So:
- (Yo) discuto con mi hermano.
- (Yo) intento comprender su razón.
Using yo is not wrong, but in neutral sentences like this it’s usually omitted unless you want to emphasize it:
- Yo intento comprender su razón (implies: I try to understand his reasoning, maybe others don’t).
You can, but there is a nuance:
- discutir – to argue, to have a verbal disagreement (could be serious or relatively calm).
- pelear – to fight; depending on context, it can be physical fighting or at least a very strong verbal conflict.
So:
- Cuando discuto con mi hermano…
→ When I argue with my brother (emphasis on verbal disagreement). - Cuando peleo con mi hermano…
→ When I fight with my brother (can sound more intense, possibly more emotional or even physical).
Both are possible; choose based on how strong the conflict is.
Yes, Spanish word order is flexible. You could say:
- Intento comprender su razón antes de responder cuando discuto con mi hermano.
This is grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit heavier and less clear because the final clause is long. The original version, with the cuando clause at the beginning, is more natural and easier to process:
- Cuando discuto con mi hermano, intento comprender su razón antes de responder.
In Spanish, it’s very common to put time clauses (with cuando, cuando, después de que, etc.) at the beginning, followed by a comma.
Both verbs can mean to answer / to reply, and in this sentence you could use either:
- antes de responder
- antes de contestar
General tendencies:
- responder often suggests responding to something that was said, asked, or done (a bit broader).
- contestar is very common for answering questions, especially in school or exam contexts:
- contestar una pregunta – to answer a question.
In this context (“before answering” in a discussion), responder is slightly more typical, but contestar would also be understood perfectly.