El agente de asistencia en tierra preguntó por el paradero.

to ask

Breakdown of El agente de asistencia en tierra preguntó por el paradero.

• por: about
• el paradero: the whereabouts
• el agente de asistencia en tierra: the ground-handling agent

Questions & Answers about El agente de asistencia en tierra preguntó por el paradero.

Why is it preguntó por and not just preguntó?

Because preguntar por is a very common Spanish pattern meaning to ask about someone or something.

So:

• preguntar = to ask
• preguntar por alguien/algo = to ask about someone/something

In this sentence, preguntó por el paradero means he/she asked about the whereabouts.

If you used only preguntó, the sentence would usually need a direct question or clause after it, such as:

• Preguntó dónde estaba. = He/She asked where he/she was.

So por is not random here; it is part of the normal structure.

What does el paradero mean here?

Here, el paradero means the whereabouts or the location of someone whose location is unknown.

It is a fairly formal or neutral word. You often see it in contexts like:

• Se desconoce su paradero. = His/Her whereabouts are unknown.
• Preguntaron por el paradero del pasajero. = They asked about the passenger’s whereabouts.

A learner should know that paradero does not usually mean just any ordinary location. It often suggests that someone is missing, not present, or cannot be found.

Why is there an article in el paradero?