Mi padre agita el té antes de beberlo.

to drink

Breakdown of Mi padre agita el té antes de beberlo.

• mi: my
• el: the
• antes de: before
• el padre: the father
• el té: the tea
• agitar: to shake
• lo: it

Questions & Answers about Mi padre agita el té antes de beberlo.

What does agita mean in this sentence?

Agita is the third person singular form of the verb agitar, which means “to stir” or “to shake.” In this sentence, it tells us that “my father” performs the action on the tea.

Why is the pronoun lo attached to the infinitive beber forming beberlo?

In Spanish, when a direct object pronoun is used with an infinitive, it can be attached to the end of the verb. Here, lo (meaning “it”) is attached to beber (“to drink”) to form beberlo, indicating that the tea (el té) is what is being drunk.

To what does the pronoun lo refer in the sentence?

The pronoun lo refers back to el té. Instead of repeating “the tea,” the sentence uses lo as a direct object pronoun to mean “it.”

Why does té have an accent mark in this sentence?

The accent on té distinguishes it from the unstressed pronoun te. With the accent, té clearly means “tea” rather than serving as an object pronoun, ensuring there is no confusion between the two.

What function does the phrase antes de beberlo serve in the sentence?

The phrase antes de beberlo means “before drinking it.” It indicates the order of actions, telling us that the father stirs the tea prior to drinking it.