Cribamos el compost y separamos el material estructurante.

Both verbs are in the first-person plural: we.

• cribamos = we sift / we screen
• separamos = we separate / we sort out

Spanish often leaves out the subject pronoun nosotros/nosotras because the verb ending already makes it clear.

Here, cribamos is the present indicative of cribar.

So it means we sift or we are sifting, depending on context.

Unlike some other forms, cribamos is not the usual let’s... form. If you wanted Let’s sift the compost, standard Spanish would normally use cribemos el compost.

Yes. Separamos can be either:

• present: we separate
• preterite: we separated

The form is identical for nosotros with -ar verbs. Context tells you which meaning is intended.

In this sentence, it most naturally reads as present, because it sounds like a description of a process or a step in a procedure.

Spanish often uses the present tense to describe steps in a process, especially in explanations, demonstrations, workshops, or instructional contexts.

So Cribamos el compost y separamos... can sound like:

• We sift the compost and separate...
• or, in natural English, something like Next, we sift the compost and separate...

If the speaker wanted a direct command to a group including themselves, Spanish would more likely use:

• Cribemos el compost y separemos...

Cribar means to sift, screen, or pass through a sieve/mesh.

In a composting context, it usually means separating the finer finished compost from larger pieces that have not fully broken down.

It is more specific than a general verb like separar, because cribar suggests using a screen, sieve, or mesh.

They are similar, but not always identical.

• cribar often suggests screening or sifting material, especially with a mesh that separates bigger and smaller pieces
• tamizar also means to sift, but it often sounds a bit more like fine sieving

In composting, cribar is a very natural choice because you are usually screening compost to remove larger fragments.

In Spain, compost is commonly used as a masculine noun, so you say el compost.

A few useful distinctions:

• el compost = the compost itself
• el compostaje = the composting process

Also, abono is broader and can mean fertilizer in general, while compost is specifically compost.

In composting, material estructurante is the coarse material that gives the compost pile structure and airflow.

It is often things like:

• wood chips
• twigs
• pruning remains
• dry plant matter

Its job is to keep the mass from becoming too compact and to help oxygen circulate.

A good English equivalent is often bulking material or structuring material, depending on context.

Because estructurante means something like that provides structure or that creates structure.

In composting, that is exactly the idea: this material helps the pile keep an open, airy structure.

By contrast, estructural usually means structural in a more general sense, like something related to structure as a concept. It is not the usual technical term here.

So:

• material estructurante = material that helps give structure to the compost mix
• material estructural would sound less natural in this context

Spanish uses articles more often than English.

Here, the sentence refers to specific material involved in the process, so el sounds natural:

• el compost
• el material estructurante

In English, you might say sift compost in a short instruction, but Spanish usually prefers cribar el compost when talking about a specific batch or the material being handled.

It changes for number, but normally not for gender in the singular.

So you get:

• material estructurante
• materia estructurante
• materiales estructurantes

The ending -nte is often the same for masculine and feminine singular. The plural adds -s.