El pastel es delicioso porque lo horneé en el horno.

The cake is delicious because I baked it in the oven.

Breakdown of El pastel es delicioso porque lo horneé en el horno.

• ser: to be
• en: in
• el: the
• porque: because
• delicioso: delicious
• hornear: to bake
• el pastel: the cake
• el horno: the oven

Questions & Answers about El pastel es delicioso porque lo horneé en el horno.

Why is es used instead of está in this sentence?

Es indicates a characteristic or inherent quality of the cake (it is delicious by nature). Está would suggest a more temporary condition, such as if the cake is currently delicious but might not always be.

Which object pronoun does lo refer to, and why is it used here?

The pronoun lo refers to el pastel. It is a direct object pronoun used in place of the cake to avoid repetition, so instead of saying "El pastel es delicioso porque horneé el pastel," Spanish uses "El pastel es delicioso porque lo horneé."

What tense is horneé, and how do I form it in Spanish?

Horneé is in the preterite tense, first person singular (yo). To form the preterite tense of a regular -ar verb like hornear, you drop the -ar and add the corresponding preterite ending. For "yo," it becomes -é, hence horne + é = horneé.

Why is the phrase en el horno used instead of simply en horno?

In Spanish, definite articles are typically used before nouns unless there is a specific reason not to. Saying en el horno means "in the oven," while en horno would sound incomplete or unnatural in most contexts.

Is pastel masculine or feminine, and how can I tell from the sentence?

El pastel is a masculine noun, which you can tell from the article el. Spanish nouns that end in -el can often be masculine (though there are exceptions). The use of el confirms that pastel is masculine in this case.