El torno gira despacio.

slowly

Breakdown of El torno gira despacio.

• girar: to turn
• el torno: the potter's wheel

Questions & Answers about El torno gira despacio.

Why is it gira and not girar?

Because gira is the conjugated form of the verb, while girar is the infinitive.

• girar = to turn / to spin
• gira = turns / is turning

In this sentence, the subject is el torno, so the verb has to match he/she/it form in the present tense:

• yo giro = I turn
• tú giras = you turn
• él/ella gira = he/she turns
• el torno gira = the lathe / wheel / turnstile turns

So gira is the correct form here.

Why isn’t there a word for it in the Spanish sentence?

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb or from the noun already stated.

In English, you must say It turns slowly.
In Spanish, if you already say El torno, you do not need an extra it:

• El torno gira despacio.

You would not normally say something like El torno él gira despacio. That sounds wrong in Spanish.

Spanish is a pro-drop language, which means subject pronouns are often omitted.

Why is despacio after the verb?