El contrincante descarta una respuesta.

El is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

It is used because contrincante here is a singular noun, and in this sentence it is treated as masculine: el contrincante = the opponent.

Even though contrincante ends in -e, not -o, it can still be masculine or feminine depending on the person:

• el contrincante = the male opponent
• la contrincante = the female opponent

Contrincante means opponent, rival, or competitor, depending on context.

It is commonly used in sports, games, debates, contests, and other competitive situations. It sounds a bit more formal or specific than just saying otro jugador.

Related words:

• oponente = opponent
• rival = rival
• adversario = adversary/opponent

Descarta is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb descartar.

The subject is el contrincante, which is he / she / it, so the verb must match that subject.

Present tense of descartar:

• yo descarto = I discard
• tú descartas = you discard
• él / ella / usted descarta = he / she / you discard

So:

• El contrincante descarta = The opponent discards / rules out

Descartar is a regular -ar verb.

That means it follows the normal present-tense pattern for -ar verbs:

• descarto
• descartas
• descarta
• descartamos
• descartáis
• descartan

Its basic idea is to discard, to reject, to rule out, or to eliminate as an option.

In Spanish, the simple present can cover several meanings that English often separates:

• discards
• is discarding
• sometimes does discard

So El contrincante descarta una respuesta could mean:

• The opponent discards an answer
• The opponent is discarding an answer

The exact English translation depends on context.

Una is the feminine singular indefinite article, meaning a or an.

It is used because respuesta is:

• singular
• feminine
• indefinite

So:

• una respuesta = an answer

If it were definite, it would be:

• la respuesta = the answer

Because it takes the article una, which is feminine singular.

Also, many nouns ending in -a are feminine, and respuesta is one of them:

• la respuesta
• una respuesta

So the article tells you the gender clearly.

This is the normal Spanish word order:

subject + verb + object

• El contrincante = subject
• descarta = verb
• una respuesta = direct object

This is very natural and straightforward in Spanish, just like:

• El jugador lanza la pelota
• La profesora corrige el examen

Spanish can change word order for emphasis, but this sentence uses the basic neutral order.

Often yes, but not always. Descartar is especially common when you mean:

• reject an option
• rule something out
• eliminate a possibility
• throw out an answer/idea/candidate

Examples:

• Descartar una opción = to rule out an option
• El médico descartó una enfermedad = the doctor ruled out an illness

If you mean physically throwing something away, Spanish often prefers:

• tirar
• botar in some regions
• desechar in more formal contexts

So descartar usually suggests rejecting something conceptually, not just putting it in the bin.

Yes, depending on context.

• opponent works well if two sides are facing each other directly
• competitor works if the setting is a competition more generally

So El contrincante descarta una respuesta could be:

• The opponent rules out an answer
• The competitor discards an answer

But opponent is usually the most direct translation for contrincante.

A Spain Spanish pronunciation would be approximately:

el kon-tree-KAN-te des-KAR-ta OO-na res-PWES-ta

A few useful points:

• c before a in contrincante sounds like k
• r in contrincante is a tapped Spanish r
• descarta has stress on -car-
• respuesta has stress on -pues-

In standard Spain Spanish, there is no special th sound here, because there is no c before e/i and no z in this sentence.