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Colocamos las servilletas en la mesa antes de servir la cena.

Colocamos las servilletas en la mesa antes de servir la cena.
We place the napkins on the table before serving dinner.
FromLesson 11inHardcore Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Colocamos las servilletas en la mesa antes de servir la cena.

What does the verb colocamos mean, and why is it conjugated without an explicit subject?
Colocamos is the first person plural (we) present indicative form of the verb colocar, meaning “to place” or “to set.” In Spanish, the verb ending clearly indicates the subject, so the pronoun nosotros (“we”) is often omitted because it’s already understood.
Why is servir in its infinitive form after antes de?
The phrase antes de means “before” and is followed by an infinitive to indicate that one action happens prior to another. Thus, servir (“to serve”) remains in its base form to show that serving dinner occurs after placing the napkins.
What does las servilletas refer to, and why is the definite article las used?
Las servilletas means “the napkins.” In Spanish, definite articles like las are used to refer to specific, known items, and here it agrees in gender (feminine) and number (plural) with servilletas.
What is the role of the prepositional phrase en la mesa in the sentence?
En la mesa translates to “on the table” and functions as a location indicator. It tells us where the napkins are being placed.
How many verbs are in this sentence and what are their functions?
There are two verbs: colocamos, which is the main verb in the present indicative meaning “we place,” and servir, an infinitive following antes de, which shows the action that follows (serving dinner). The construction outlines a sequence where one action precedes the other.
Can servir have other meanings, or is it solely about serving dinner here?
In this context, servir specifically means “to serve” dinner—that is, to present or distribute the meal. While servir can have other meanings in different contexts (like “to be useful” or “to work as”), here the intended meaning, given the context of dinner, is clearly about serving the food.
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