Alguien robó mi bicicleta.

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Breakdown of Alguien robó mi bicicleta.

• la bicicleta: the bicycle
• alguien: someone
• robar: to steal

Questions & Answers about Alguien robó mi bicicleta.

Why does robó have an accent?

The accent mark shows that the stress falls on the last syllable: ro-BÓ.

It also helps distinguish robó from robo:

• robó = he/she stole or someone stole (preterite, 3rd person singular)
• robo = I steal (present) or theft/robbery as a noun, depending on context

So in Alguien robó mi bicicleta, the accent is important because it tells you this is a past-tense verb.

Why is robó used here instead of robaba?

Robó is the preterite, which is used for a completed action in the past: someone stole it, and the action is seen as finished.

Robaba is the imperfect, which would suggest something ongoing, repeated, or background information. On its own, Alguien robaba mi bicicleta would sound strange in most situations, almost like someone was stealing my bicycle in the middle of the action.

So:

• Alguien robó mi bicicleta = someone stole my bicycle
• Alguien robaba mi bicicleta = someone was stealing my bicycle / used to steal my bicycle

For a single completed event, robó is the normal choice.

What exactly does alguien mean, and why is it used here?