Quiero felicitar a mi amiga porque decidió reemplazar su miedo por valentía.

I

Breakdown of Quiero felicitar a mi amiga porque decidió reemplazar su miedo por valentía.

• querer: to want
• mi: my
• a: to
• la amiga: the friend
• porque: because
• ella: she
• su: her
• el miedo: the fear
• decidir: to decide
• reemplazar: to replace
• felicitar: to congratulate
• la valentía: the courage

Questions & Answers about Quiero felicitar a mi amiga porque decidió reemplazar su miedo por valentía.

Why does the sentence say Quiero felicitar a mi amiga instead of Quiero felicitar mi amiga?

In Spanish, the preposition a is used before a direct object that refers to a person (this is known as the personal a). So when you want to congratulate your friend, you say felicitar a mi amiga rather than felicitar mi amiga.

Why is decidió spelled with an accent on the o?

Spanish accents indicate where the stress should fall in a word. Decidió is a third-person singular form of the verb decidir in the past tense (pretérito). The accent on the o ensures that the last syllable (dió) is pronounced with emphasis.

Is reemplazar a common Spanish verb, and can I use it interchangeably with sustituir?

Yes, reemplazar is common and generally means to replace. It is often used interchangeably with sustituir, although sometimes one might be more popular depending on specific contexts. For everyday usage, both verbs are fine when expressing the idea of replacing one thing with another.

When do I use porque versus por qué?

Porque (written as one word, without accent) means because and is used to give a reason for something, as in the sentence above. Por qué (two words, with an accent) means why and is used in questions (e.g., ¿Por qué hiciste eso? – Why did you do that?).

Can I say reemplazar su miedo con valentía or do I need to keep por?

In Spanish, reemplazar algo por algo is a common construction (replace one thing with another). While con might sometimes be used in casual speech, por is grammatically preferred in most contexts when indicating what is being replaced by what.