La tarlatana cubre el lomo.

The subject is la tarlatana — it is the thing doing the action.

The verb is cubre — covers.

The direct object is el lomo — it is the thing being covered.

So the structure is:

• La tarlatana = subject
• cubre = verb
• el lomo = direct object

This is the normal Spanish word order: Subject + Verb + Object.

Because tarlatana is a feminine noun, and lomo is a masculine noun.

So their definite articles are:

• la for feminine singular nouns
• el for masculine singular nouns

That is why you get:

• la tarlatana
• el lomo

For a learner, this may look connected to the endings -a and -o, and often it is:

• nouns ending in -a are often feminine
• nouns ending in -o are often masculine

But remember that this is a pattern, not a perfect rule.

Cubre is the:

• third person singular
• present indicative
• form of cubrir

So it can mean:

• he covers
• she covers
• it covers
• you cover (formal singular, usted)

In this sentence, it matches la tarlatana, which is singular, so the verb must also be singular:

• La tarlatana cubre

Because cubrir is the infinitive, the basic dictionary form, meaning to cover.

In a full sentence, Spanish usually needs a conjugated verb, not the infinitive.

So:

• cubrir = to cover
• cubre = covers

Compare:

• Cubrir el lomo = To cover the back/spine
• La tarlatana cubre el lomo = The tarlatan covers the back/spine

It is mostly regular, but it has a small spelling-related change in some forms.

In the present tense:

• yo cubro
• tú cubres
• él/ella/usted cubre
• nosotros cubrimos
• vosotros cubrís
• ellos/ellas/ustedes cubren

These forms are straightforward.

But in some other forms, especially in the preterite and past participle, you see changes:

• past participle: cubierto, not cubrido
• preterite: cubrió, cubrieron

So for this sentence, cubre is not difficult, but it is useful to know that cubrir is not completely regular in every tense.

Spanish uses articles more often than English does.

With common nouns, Spanish very often includes an article unless there is a reason not to. So la tarlatana and el lomo sound natural and complete.

In English, depending on context, you might say:

• Tarlatan covers the spine
• The tarlatan covers the spine

Spanish is more likely to keep the article:

• La tarlatana cubre el lomo

This is very normal Spanish usage.

Lomo can have several related meanings depending on context. Common ones include:

• the back of an animal
• the loin or a cut of meat
• the spine of a book
• sometimes the back or ridge of something

So even if the translation has already been given to you, it is worth knowing that lomo is a flexible word and the exact meaning depends on context.

Yes, Spanish word order is more flexible than English word order, although La tarlatana cubre el lomo is the most neutral version.

For emphasis, you could sometimes change things around, for example:

• El lomo lo cubre la tarlatana

That sounds more marked or emphatic, something like The spine/back is what the tarlatan covers.

But for a basic learner, the safest and most natural order is:

• La tarlatana cubre el lomo

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• tarlatana ≈ tar-la-TA-na
• cubre ≈ KOO-breh

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• c before u sounds like k
• b and v are pronounced very similarly in Spanish
• the r in cubre is a soft tap, not an English r
• stress:
  • tarlatana stresses ta
  • cubre stresses cu

A more Spanish-like approximation would be:

• tarlatana = tar-la-TA-na
• cubre = KOO-breh

Normally, no.

With an ordinary common noun like tarlatana, Spanish usually needs an article in this kind of sentence. So:

• La tarlatana cubre el lomo = natural
• Tarlatana cubre el lomo = sounds incomplete or unnatural in ordinary usage

You might drop the article only in very special contexts, such as headings, labels, notes, or highly technical style.

It would become:

• Las tarlatanas cubren los lomos

Changes:

• la → las
• tarlatana → tarlatanas
• cubre → cubren
• el → los
• lomo → lomos

This is a good example of agreement in Spanish:

• article agrees with noun
• verb agrees with the subject

Yes. It can also mean you cover when speaking formally to one person, because usted uses the same verb form as él/ella.

So cubre can mean:

• he covers
• she covers
• it covers
• you cover (formal singular)

In La tarlatana cubre el lomo, though, it clearly means it covers, because the subject is la tarlatana.

There are two main clues:

1. Verb agreement
   The verb is cubre, singular, and it agrees naturally with la tarlatana, which is the noun before the verb.

2. Meaning and sentence structure
   In a normal Spanish sentence of the form Subject + Verb + Object, the noun after the verb is usually the object:

   • La tarlatana = the thing doing the covering
   • el lomo = the thing being covered

So the sentence is understood as:

• The tarlatan covers the back/spine,
  not
• The back/spine covers the tarlatan.