Breakdown of Cambiamos el brillo sin que cambie el contraste.
cambiar
to change
sin que
without
el contraste
the contrast
el brillo
the brightness
Questions & Answers about Cambiamos el brillo sin que cambie el contraste.
Why is it sin que cambie and not sin que cambia?
Because sin que is normally followed by the subjunctive.
Here, cambie is the present subjunctive of cambiar. Spanish uses the subjunctive after sin que because the action in that clause is not being presented as a stated fact; it is something being avoided:
- Cambiamos el brillo sin que cambie el contraste.
- We change the brightness without the contrast changing.
So cambia would not fit here; cambie is the expected form.
What exactly does sin que mean here?
Sin que means without when it is followed by a full clause with its own verb.
A useful comparison:
- sin + infinitive = without doing something
- sin que + subjunctive = without someone/something doing something
So in this sentence:
- sin que cambie el contraste = without the contrast changing
It introduces a separate action/state that does not happen.
Who is the subject of cambie?