Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Un turista extranjero tomó fotos de la manifestación ecológica y las compartió en su blog. - A foreign tourist took photos of the environmental protest and shared them on his blog.

uno is used:
- When it stands alone: ¿Quieres uno? – “Do you want one?”
- Or before a masculine noun only when something comes between: uno de mis amigos – “one of my friends.”
Before a normal masculine noun like turista, you must say:
- un turista extranjero = “a foreign tourist,” not uno turista (incorrect).

So un here is just the regular masculine singular indefinite article, like a in English.

Why does turista end in -a but use un and extranjero, which are masculine?

Many nouns ending in -ista can be either masculine or feminine, depending on the person’s gender. The form of the noun doesn’t change; the article and adjectives show the gender.

Masculine:
- un turista extranjero = a male foreign tourist
Feminine:
- una turista extranjera = a female foreign tourist

Other examples:

el / la artista
el / la periodista
el / la dentista

So turista always ends in -a, but it can be masculine or feminine. In this sentence, un and extranjero tell us it’s masculine.

Could I also say un extranjero turista, or is that wrong?

Un extranjero turista is grammatically possible, but it sounds unusual and a bit awkward.

The natural way is un turista extranjero:
- Noun (turista) + descriptive adjective (extranjero)
- This is the standard pattern in Spanish.
extranjero can be both an adjective (“foreign”) and a noun (“foreigner”):
- un extranjero = “a foreigner”
- un turista extranjero = “a foreign tourist / a tourist who is foreign”

If you say un extranjero turista, it sounds like you’re starting with “a foreigner” and then adding “who is a tourist,” but that’s not the usual way to phrase it. Native speakers would almost always say un turista extranjero.

What tense is tomó, and why is it used instead of tomaba?

Tomó is the preterite (simple past) of tomar, 3rd person singular: “he/she took.”

tomó fotos = “(he/she) took photos” (a completed action at a specific time)
tomaba fotos would be the imperfect, meaning:
- “(he/she) was taking photos” (in progress), or
- “(he/she) used to take photos” (habitually)

In this sentence, we’re narrating a specific completed event: he took photos and then shared them. That’s why the preterite tomó is used, not tomaba.

Is tomar fotos the usual way to say “take photos” in Latin American Spanish? I’ve also seen sacar fotos and hacer fotos.

In Latin America, the most common options are:

tomar fotos – very common and widely understood.
sacar fotos – also very common (might be even more frequent in some countries).

Both mean “to take photos” and are basically interchangeable in everyday speech.

Hacer fotos (“to make photos”) is heard more in Spain; in much of Latin America it sounds less natural for this context.

So in this sentence, tomó fotos is a very normal Latin American way to say “(he/she) took photos.”

Why is it fotos and not fotografías? Are they different?

Foto is just a shorter, more informal version of fotografía.

una fotografía = a photograph (more formal or technical)
una foto = a photo (everyday speech)

They refer to the same thing; it’s like photograph vs photo in English. In conversation and informal writing, people almost always say foto(s), so tomó fotos is the most natural-sounding choice here.

Why do we say fotos de la manifestación ecológica? What does the de mean here?

The preposition de often indicates what something is about, what it shows, or what it contains.

fotos de la manifestación ecológica = “photos of the environmental protest/demonstration”

Here, de connects:

fotos (photos)
with what the photos show: la manifestación ecológica (the demonstration)

Other similar examples:

un video de la fiesta = a video of the party
un artículo de política = an article about politics

You wouldn’t use a here; a usually expresses direction (to/towards) rather than content.

What does manifestación ecológica mean exactly, and why is ecológica placed after manifestación?

Manifestación in this context means a public demonstration or march, usually for or against something (often political or social).
Ecológica is the adjective meaning “ecological” or “environmental.”

So manifestación ecológica means something like:

“an environmental protest”
“a demonstration for environmental causes”

As for word order:

In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives (including ones like ecológico/ecológica) normally come after the noun:
- casa grande – big house
- película interesante – interesting movie
- manifestación ecológica – environmental protest

Putting ecológica before (ecológica manifestación) is possible only in very literary or poetic style; in normal speech you say manifestación ecológica.

What is las referring to in y las compartió en su blog?

Las is a direct object pronoun, feminine plural.

It refers back to the feminine plural noun fotos:

fotos → feminine plural
pronoun that replaces it → las

So the sequence is:

tomó fotos – he/she took photos
y las compartió – and (he/she) shared them

“Them” = the photos.

Why is las placed before compartió and not after, like compartiólas?

In modern Spanish, unstressed object pronouns like lo, la, los, las, le, les usually go before a conjugated verb:

las compartió (he/she shared them)
lo vio (he/she saw it/him)

They go after the verb (attached to it) only in specific cases:

Infinitives: compartirlas – to share them
Gerunds: compartiéndolas – sharing them
Affirmative commands: ¡Compártelas! – Share them!

Compartiólas exists but sounds archaic or very literary; it’s not normal in everyday Latin American Spanish.

You can say compartió las fotos (shared the photos), but if you want to use the pronoun instead of repeating fotos, it must go before: las compartió.

How do we know if su blog means “his blog,” “her blog,” or “their blog”?

We don’t know from this sentence alone; su is ambiguous in Spanish.

Su can mean:

his
her
its
their
your (formal, singular or plural, depending on country)

So su blog could be:

his blog
her blog
their blog
your blog (formal usted / ustedes)

In context, speakers usually understand from the wider conversation or story. If you need to be explicit, you can say:

el blog de él – his blog
el blog de ella – her blog
el blog de ellos / de ellas – their blog

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like él or ella before tomó?

Spanish is a “pro-drop” language: subject pronouns are often left out because the verb ending already shows the subject.

tomó clearly tells us it’s he/she/it/you-formal (3rd person singular in the preterite).
Adding él or ella is only needed for:
- emphasis: Él tomó fotos, no ella. – He took photos, not her.
- or to avoid ambiguity in a more complex context.

In a neutral sentence where the subject is obvious (here: un turista extranjero), Spanish normally omits él / ella and just uses the verb form tomó.