La policía advirtió al conductor.

The police warned the driver.

Breakdown of La policía advirtió al conductor.

• al: to the
• el conductor: the driver
• la policía: the police
• advertir: to warn

Questions & Answers about La policía advirtió al conductor.

Why is la policía singular when English often says the police?

In Spanish, la policía is often a collective singular noun meaning the police force. Because it is grammatically singular, the verb is singular too:

• La policía advirtió... = The police warned...

If you want to talk about individual officers, Spanish often uses the plural:

• Los policías advirtieron al conductor. = The police officers warned the driver.

So the Spanish grammar is singular here, even if the English translation may sound plural.

Could la policía also mean the policewoman?

Yes. La policía can mean:

• the police / the police force
• the female police officer

So this phrase can be ambiguous without more context. If you specifically mean a male police officer, it would be el policía. If you mean police officers in the plural, it would be los policías.

What tense is advirtió?

Advirtió is the preterite form, third person singular, of advertir.

So it means that the warning happened as a completed action in the past:

• advirtió = warned

This is different from the imperfect:

• advertía = was warning / used to warn

So La policía advirtió al conductor presents the warning as a finished event.