¿Por qué no intentas descubrir el bosque cercano en bicicleta?

Why don’t you try discovering the nearby forest by bicycle?

Breakdown of ¿Por qué no intentas descubrir el bosque cercano en bicicleta?

• la bicicleta: the bicycle
• por qué: why
• intentar: to try
• descubrir: to discover
• el bosque: the forest
• cercano: nearby

Questions & Answers about ¿Por qué no intentas descubrir el bosque cercano en bicicleta?

Why is intentas followed directly by descubrir without any extra word like "a"?

In Spanish, the verb intentar is followed directly by the infinitive of another verb without a preposition. So instead of saying "intentar a descubrir", you simply say intentar descubrir. This pattern is different from English, where "to try to discover" has two "to"s in a row.

What does cercano mean and why is it used here?

Cercano means "nearby" or "close." It modifies bosque (forest) to indicate proximity. In Spanish, adjectives typically come after the noun, so you have el bosque cercano ("the nearby forest").

Why do we use en bicicleta instead of something like "con la bicicleta"?

In Spanish, the phrase en bicicleta means "by bike" or "on a bike," indicating the mode of transport. Saying "con la bicicleta" is less common for transportation and would sound more like "with the bicycle" in English, which is not the usual way to express traveling by bike.

Why does the sentence start with ¿Por qué no…? if it’s suggesting something?

Using ¿Por qué no…? is a common way in Spanish to make a friendly or casual suggestion. It literally translates to "Why not…?" but functions similarly to "How about…?" or "Why don’t you...?" in English.

What is the function of intentas instead of, say, pruebas or intentas a?

Intentas is the present tense form (tú) of intentar, which focuses on the idea of making an effort or trying. Probar ("to try" in the sense of testing or tasting) isn’t the right choice here because we’re talking about an action that requires effort (discovering the forest), not sampling or testing. Additionally, as mentioned before, intentar doesn’t need "a" before the next verb in Spanish.