Compramos té indio.

to buy

Breakdown of Compramos té indio.

• el té: the tea
• indio: Indian

Questions & Answers about Compramos té indio.

Why isn’t nosotros included? Shouldn’t it be Nosotros compramos?

Spanish often drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

• compramos can mean we buy or we bought
• the ending -amos already tells you the subject is we

So Compramos té indio is a completely natural sentence. You can add nosotros for emphasis or contrast:

• Nosotros compramos té indio, no café. = We buy Indian tea, not coffee.

Does compramos mean we buy or we bought?

It can mean either one, depending on context.

• Present tense: we buy
• Preterite: we bought

This happens because the nosotros form of some -ar verbs looks the same in those two tenses.

So:

• Compramos té indio todos los meses. = We buy Indian tea every month.
• Ayer compramos té indio. = Yesterday we bought Indian tea.

The surrounding context usually makes the meaning clear.

Why is there no article before té? Why not el té or un té?