Bajo la persiana cuando hace calor.

I

Breakdown of Bajo la persiana cuando hace calor.

• cuando: when
• el calor: the heat
• la persiana: the blind
• bajar: to lower
• hacer: to do, to make

Questions & Answers about Bajo la persiana cuando hace calor.

Why is bajo used here instead of something that looks like "under"?

In this sentence, bajo is the first-person, present-tense form of the verb bajar (meaning "to lower" or "to pull down"). It’s not the preposition bajo (meaning "under"). So here it means "I lower the blind…" rather than referring to being physically underneath something.

How can I tell the difference between the verb bajar and the preposition bajo in other contexts?

• The verb: bajar changes form depending on the subject (yo bajo, tú bajas, etc.).
• The preposition: bajo remains the same and usually translates to "under" in English.
You can often tell which is which by looking at the role of the word in the sentence: if it’s describing a location (under something), it’s a preposition; if it’s describing an action (to lower), it’s a verb.

Why is la persiana used instead of something like el persiana or las persianas?

In Spanish, the word persiana (blind or shutter) is a feminine noun, so it uses the article la in singular form (la persiana). If you were talking about multiple blinds, you would use las persianas.

What exactly does hace calor mean, literally?

The phrase hace calor literally translates to "it makes heat," but idiomatically in Spanish it means "it’s hot." Spanish commonly uses hace ("makes") with weather expressions like hace frío ("it’s cold"), hace viento ("it’s windy"), etc.

Why do we say hace calor instead of está calor?

In Spanish, expressions about weather or temperature typically use hacer, not estar. Saying está calor would sound incorrect. Think of hace calor as a set phrase meaning "it’s hot."

Is there a difference between using cuando hace calor versus cuando tengo calor?

Yes. Cuando hace calor describes the general weather ("when it is hot outside"). Cuando tengo calor refers to your personal feeling ("when I feel hot"). They express related but different ideas.