El disparo rompió la ventana.

the window

Breakdown of El disparo rompió la ventana.

• romper: to break
• el disparo: the gunshot

Questions & Answers about El disparo rompió la ventana.

Why is it el disparo and not just disparo?

In Spanish, singular countable nouns usually need an article or some other determiner. So disparo by itself often sounds incomplete in a normal sentence.

• el disparo = the shot
• un disparo = a shot

Spanish uses articles more often than English does, so El disparo rompió la ventana sounds natural, while Disparo rompió la ventana does not.

What exactly does disparo mean here?

Disparo usually means shot, gunshot, or the act of firing. In this sentence, it refers to the thing that caused the window to break.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• the shot
• the gunshot
• sometimes, by implication, the bullet

But strictly speaking, disparo is more like shot/firing than bullet. The word for bullet is bala.

Why is the verb rompió?

Rompió is the third-person singular preterite of romper.

That matches the subject:

• el disparo = it / the shot
• rompió = broke

So the structure is:

• El disparo = subject
• rompió = verb
• la ventana = direct object

The preterite is used because this is a completed action in the past: the shot broke the window.