Sin electricidad, la computadora no funciona.

Without electricity, the computer does not work.

Breakdown of Sin electricidad, la computadora no funciona.

• la computadora: the computer
• sin: without
• no: not
• funcionar: to work
• la electricidad: the electricity

Questions & Answers about Sin electricidad, la computadora no funciona.

What does sin mean here, and is it always followed just by a noun like this?

Sin means “without”.
The basic pattern is:

• sin + noun → sin electricidad = without electricity
• You do not add de: ✗ sin de electricidad is wrong.

You can also have sin + infinitive (verb in -ar/-er/-ir form), e.g. sin comer = without eating, but in this sentence it’s the sin + noun pattern.

Why is there no article before electricidad? Why not la electricidad?

Both are grammatically possible, but they’re not used in exactly the same way:

• Sin electricidad (no article) = without electricity (in general)
  
  • Very natural when talking about something as a general condition or substance.
• Sin la electricidad = without the electricity
  
  • Sounds more specific, referring to some particular supply of electricity already known from context (for example, “without the electricity we get from this power plant”).

For general statements like this one, sin electricidad is the most natural choice.

Why is it la computadora and not el computadora?

In Latin American Spanish, computadora is a feminine noun, so it takes la:

• la computadora = the computer
• una computadora = a computer

In Spain, people more often say el ordenador (masculine), but the meaning is the same. The sentence is using the common Latin American word (la computadora).

Why is the definite article la used? Why not just say computadora no funciona?

In Spanish, you normally need an article (or some determiner) in front of a singular countable noun:

• La computadora no funciona. ✅
• Una computadora no funciona. ✅ (a computer doesn’t work)
• Computadora no funciona. ❌ (sounds incomplete/wrong in standard Spanish)

La computadora can mean:

• a specific computer (the one we’re talking about), or
• sometimes a generic class (“the computer” as a device in general), especially in examples.

So the article la is required; leaving it out is not natural here.

What does no funciona literally mean, and why not no trabaja?

• The verb funcionar means “to function / to work (properly)” in the sense of machines, devices, systems.

  • La computadora no funciona. = The computer doesn’t work / isn’t working (it’s not functioning).

• Trabajar means “to work” in the sense of people working (having a job, doing work).

  • Yo trabajo. = I work.
  • La computadora no trabaja. ❌ sounds strange; computers and machines normally no funcionan, they don’t trabajan.

So no funciona is the correct choice for a device.

Why does funciona end in -a? What form of the verb is this?

The infinitive is funcionar (an -ar verb).
In the present tense, third person singular (he/she/it), -ar verbs end in -a:

• yo funciono
• tú funcionas
• él / ella / la computadora funciona
• nosotros funcionamos
• ellos funcionan

So funciona is the present tense for “it works / it functions”, matching la computadora (which is like “it” in English).

Why is there no word for “it” before no funciona?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns when they’re clear from context or from the verb form.

• In English: It doesn’t work. (you need “it”)
• In Spanish: La computadora no funciona.
  
  • The subject is la computadora; that already tells you who is doing the action.
  • There is no extra “it” pronoun in front of the verb.

You could say Ella no funciona grammatically, but that would mean “She doesn’t work”, usually referring to a person or a female animal, not to a computer.

Why is no placed before funciona?

In Spanish, no usually goes right before the conjugated verb to make the sentence negative:

• La computadora funciona. = The computer works.
• La computadora no funciona. = The computer does not work.

If there are direct/indirect object pronouns, no goes before them and the whole cluster goes before the verb:

• La computadora no me funciona. = The computer doesn’t work for me.

But the key rule is: for simple sentences, no + verb makes the negative.

Why is there a comma after electricidad? Is it required?

Sin electricidad is a short introductory phrase. In Spanish, it’s very common (and stylistically preferred) to put a comma after such an initial phrase:

• Sin electricidad, la computadora no funciona.

In a short sentence like this, you might sometimes see it without the comma in informal writing:

• Sin electricidad la computadora no funciona.

But the comma is standard and makes the sentence a bit clearer, just like in English:
“Without electricity, the computer doesn’t work.”

Can I also say La computadora no funciona sin electricidad? Is there any difference?

Yes, that sentence is also correct:

• Sin electricidad, la computadora no funciona.
• La computadora no funciona sin electricidad.

Both mean the same thing. The difference is just word order and emphasis:

• Starting with sin electricidad slightly emphasizes the condition (“Without electricity (as a condition), the computer doesn’t work”).
• Putting sin electricidad at the end sounds a bit more neutral in everyday speech.

Both are completely natural in Latin American Spanish.