El temperamento afecta a la compatibilidad.

to

Breakdown of El temperamento afecta a la compatibilidad.

• afectar: to affect
• el temperamento: the temperament
• la compatibilidad: the compatibility

Questions & Answers about El temperamento afecta a la compatibilidad.

Why is it afecta and not afectar?

Because afecta is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb afectar.

• afectar = the infinitive, to affect
• afecta = it affects / affects

In this sentence, the subject is El temperamento, which is singular, so the verb must also be singular:

• El temperamento afecta... = Temperament affects...

If you used afectar, the sentence would be ungrammatical here because Spanish needs a conjugated verb in a normal statement.

Why is there an a after afecta?

In Spanish, afectar is commonly followed by a before the thing being affected:

• afectar a alguien
• afectar a algo

So:

• El temperamento afecta a la compatibilidad.

This is just the normal pattern of the verb. English says affect something, but Spanish usually says afectar a algo.

This a is not the same as the personal a used only with people. Here it is part of how the verb is often used.

Why do we say el temperamento and la compatibilidad with articles?