Quitamos el filtro de agua.

Quitamos comes from the verb quitar, which often means to remove, to take away, or to get rid of.

In Quitamos el filtro de agua, quitamos means we remove or we removed, depending on context.

Very common meanings of quitar include:

• Quitar la mesa = to clear the table
• Quitar la chaqueta = to take off the jacket
• Quitar algo de algún sitio = to remove something from somewhere

So here, quitamos el filtro de agua is literally we remove/remove(d) the water filter.

Because in Spanish, the first-person plural form of some -ar verbs is the same in the present tense and the preterite.

For quitar:

• Present: quitamos = we remove
• Preterite: quitamos = we removed

So the form is identical. The difference is understood from context.

For example:

• Cada mes quitamos el filtro y lo limpiamos. = Every month we remove the filter and clean it.
  → present / habitual
• Ayer quitamos el filtro de agua. = Yesterday we removed the water filter.
  → preterite / completed past

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• quitamos already tells you the subject is we
• So nosotros quitamos el filtro de agua is possible, but usually unnecessary

Spanish does this all the time:

• Comemos = we eat
• Vivimos = we live
• Quitamos = we remove / we removed

You would include nosotros only for emphasis, contrast, or clarity:

• Nosotros quitamos el filtro, no ellos.
  = We removed the filter, not them.

Spanish uses definite articles (el, la, los, las) more often than English does.

So el filtro means the filter, and in many situations Spanish prefers the article where English might or might not use one.

Here, el filtro sounds natural because it refers to a specific filter that both speaker and listener understand.

Compare:

• Quitamos el filtro. = We removed the filter.
• Necesitamos un filtro. = We need a filter.
  (un = any one / a certain one not yet identified)

De agua literally means of water, but in natural English it usually becomes water as an adjective-like idea.

So:

• filtro de agua = water filter

Spanish often uses de + noun where English uses a noun as a modifier:

• botella de vino = bottle of wine
• vaso de agua = glass of water
• filtro de aire = air filter
• filtro de agua = water filter

So de agua tells you what kind of filter it is.

Yes, that is basically the same idea. De agua can indicate the type or purpose of the filter.

Depending on context, filtro de agua can be understood as:

• a filter used for water
• a water filtration filter
• a water filter

In everyday usage, water filter is the most natural English translation.

Sometimes yes, but it depends on what you want to emphasize.

• quitar = to remove / take away
• sacar = to take out / pull out

So:

• Quitamos el filtro de agua focuses on removing it
• Sacamos el filtro de agua can sound more like we took the water filter out

Both may be possible in context, but they are not always identical. If the idea is simply that the filter was removed, quitar is very natural.

A helpful Spain pronunciation guide is:

kee-TA-mos el FEEL-tro de A-gwa

A bit more closely:

• qui sounds like kee
• ta is a clear ta
• mos like moss
• el like el
• filtro = FEEL-tro
• de = deh
• agua = A-gwa

A few pronunciation notes:

• In qui, the u is silent, so qui sounds like ki
• tr in filtro is pronounced cleanly, not like English chr
• In much of Spain, the g in agua is a hard g, as in go

Not exactly, but it often works like one in translation.

Spanish does have adjectives, but it very often uses noun + de + noun where English uses a noun acting like an adjective.

So instead of something literally like water filter with water directly before filter, Spanish says:

• filtro de agua

This pattern is extremely common and worth getting used to.

Not by itself, not usually.

Quitamos el filtro de agua is normally a statement:

• We remove the water filter
• We removed the water filter

If you want Let’s remove the water filter, Spanish would more naturally use:

• Quitemos el filtro de agua.

That is the nosotros command / subjunctive form.

So:

• quitamos = we remove / we removed
• quitemos = let’s remove

The structure is:

[Verb] + [Direct object]

• Quitamos = verb
• el filtro de agua = direct object

Inside the direct object:

• el filtro = the filter
• de agua = of water / water

So the full sentence is a very standard Spanish pattern:

• omitted subject (we)
• conjugated verb
• direct object

It is simple but very useful as a model for many other sentences:

• Cambiamos el filtro de aire. = We change(d) the air filter.
• Limpiamos la botella de agua. = We clean(ed) the water bottle.
• Quitamos la tapa del depósito. = We remove(d) the tank cap.