Breakdown of Mi amigo controla la cámara, elige un filtro oscuro y luego escribe los subtítulos en español.
Questions & Answers about Mi amigo controla la cámara, elige un filtro oscuro y luego escribe los subtítulos en español.
In this sentence, controla means operates / is in charge of / manages the camera.
The verb controlar can mean:
- to operate a device: controlar la cámara, controlar el dron
- to supervise or be in charge of something: controlar el proyecto
- to check / inspect: controlar los boletos (to check tickets)
So here Mi amigo controla la cámara is stronger than just uses the camera; it suggests he is the one operating or managing it.
They are all in the third person singular, present tense, indicative:
- controla ← controlar (‑ar verb)
- elige ← elegir (irregular ‑ir verb)
- escribe ← escribir (‑ir verb)
They all match the subject mi amigo (he):
- Mi amigo controla = My friend controls
- Mi amigo elige = My friend chooses
- Mi amigo escribe = My friend writes
In Spanish, you just conjugate for he/she/it and you do not need to add a pronoun (él) unless you want to emphasize it.
Spanish usually drops subject pronouns when the subject is clear from context or from the verb ending.
- Mi amigo controla… already tells you the subject is he (my friend).
Adding Él (Él, mi amigo, controla…) would sound unnatural here, unless you were really emphasizing he as opposed to someone else.
So the normal, natural way is exactly as written: Mi amigo controla la cámara…
Both are possible, but they say slightly different things:
Mi amigo controla la cámara
= My friend operates the camera (the one we’re talking about / the one being used).Mi amigo controla su cámara
= My friend operates his camera (emphasizing that it belongs to him).
Spanish uses the definite article (la cámara) more often than English uses the, especially when the item is already known from context. We often don’t need to repeat su unless possession is important or ambiguous.
In Spanish, adjectives usually come after the noun:
- un filtro oscuro = a dark filter
- filtro (noun)
- oscuro (adjective)
Putting the adjective before the noun (oscuro filtro) is possible only in some special, more literary or poetic contexts, and it sounds marked or stylistic. The normal, neutral order is noun + adjective.
- oscuro = dark (low light, not necessarily black)
- negro = black (a specific color)
Un filtro oscuro = any filter that darkens the image.
Un filtro negro = a black-colored filter, which is more about its color than its effect.
For describing how a filter affects the image, oscuro is more natural.
Yes, you can say:
- Mi amigo escoge un filtro oscuro…
instead of elige.
Elegir and escoger both mean to choose / to pick, and in most contexts they are interchangeable. There can be regional preferences (some areas use one more than the other), but in Latin America both are widely understood and used.
All are possible, but they have slightly different flavors:
- luego = then, afterwards (very common, neutral)
- después = after that, afterwards (also common and neutral)
- entonces = then, in that case (can sound more narrative or logical: so then…)
In a simple sequence of actions, luego or después are the most typical choices:
- …elige un filtro oscuro y luego escribe…
- …elige un filtro oscuro y después escribe…
Both sound natural and almost interchangeable here.
In practice, subtitles are almost always talked about in the plural in both languages:
- los subtítulos = the subtitles (all the text at the bottom of the video)
You would use el subtítulo when referring to one specific subtitle line:
- Ese subtítulo está mal traducido.
That subtitle is badly translated.
But for the general task (writing subtitles for a video), Spanish uses los subtítulos, plural.
For languages, when you mean “in Spanish / in English / in French” as the language of the text or speech, Spanish uses:
- en español
- en inglés
- en francés
No article is needed.
En el español is used only in specific contexts where español is treated as a normal noun (for example, talking about the Spanish language as an object of study: En el español de México se dice…).
Al español means to Spanish (as in translate to Spanish: traducir al español), which is a different idea.
Yes, several orders are possible, but some are more natural:
- Most natural: escribe los subtítulos en español
- Also possible: escribe en español los subtítulos (slight emphasis on in Spanish)
You should avoid splitting elements in a confusing way. For example, escribe los subtítulos en español is clearer than something like escribe en español los subtítulos del video if the phrase gets long.
In general, stick with verb + object + extra info:
- escribe los subtítulos en español
Yes, but the nuance changes:
Mi amigo controla la cámara…
= He controls / operates the camera (general or habitual action, or a simple description of what is happening now).Mi amigo está controlando la cámara…
= He is currently controlling the camera right now, emphasizing the ongoing action.
In many narrative or descriptive contexts (like describing what happens in a usual workflow), Spanish prefers the simple present (controla, elige, escribe) rather than está controlando, está eligiendo, está escribiendo.