Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): De repente empezó a llover y ni siquiera tenía paraguas. - Suddenly it started to rain and I didn’t even have an umbrella.

Spanish uses the preterite for completed events and the imperfect for background states. Empezó (preterite) marks the sudden, completed start of the rain. Tenía (imperfect) describes an ongoing state in the background (not having an umbrella at that time). If you said tuvo, it would sound like “got/obtained an umbrella (at some point),” which isn’t the meaning here.

Could I say empezaba a llover instead of empezó a llover?

You could, but it changes the meaning. Empezaba a llover paints the scene or suggests something was about to begin (in progress or repeated), not a sudden, punctual start. With de repente, the punctual preterite empezó is the natural choice.

Why is there an a after empezó?

Because the pattern is empezar a + infinitive (and similarly comenzar a + infinitive). So: empezó a llover, empezó a correr, etc. Omitting a is incorrect here.

Could I use other verbs for “began to rain,” like se puso a llover or comenzó a llover?

Yes:

Se puso a llover is very idiomatic and slightly more colloquial/neutral.
Comenzó a llover is fine and a touch more formal.
Se echó a llover exists but is less common. All three convey a sudden start.

Why does llover have no subject pronoun (no “it”)?

Weather verbs are impersonal in Spanish. Llover is used in third person singular without a subject pronoun: Llueve, Llovió, Empezó a llover. Spanish has no dummy “it” for weather.

Does ni siquiera need no in the sentence?

No. Ni siquiera by itself makes the clause negative when placed before the verb: Ni siquiera tenía paraguas. You can also say No tenía siquiera paraguas, but the version with ni siquiera before the verb is more common and more emphatic.

Why is there no un before paraguas?

With tener in negative contexts, Spanish often drops the indefinite article to express “not… any”: No tengo coche, No tenía paraguas. You can say ni siquiera tenía un paraguas; it’s correct and can slightly emphasize “not even one umbrella,” but dropping un is very natural here.

What is the gender and plural of paraguas?

Paraguas is masculine and invariable in the plural:

Singular: el paraguas, un paraguas
Plural: los paraguas, unos paraguas The form doesn’t change; only the article does.

Can de repente go elsewhere in the sentence?

Yes. Common placements:

De repente empezó a llover… (very natural)
Empezó a llover de repente… (also natural) Placing it between the verb and a (empezó de repente a llover) is understood but less usual.

Is there a difference between De repente empezó a llover and Llovió de repente?

Slight nuance:

De repente empezó a llover focuses on the onset.
Llovió de repente can suggest a sudden rain event (often brief or unexpected), focusing on the whole event rather than just the start.

Should y change to e before ni siquiera?

No. Y only changes to e before words starting with the vowel sound /i/ (i, hi not followed by a diphthong): padre e hijo, arena e hielo. Here the next word is ni, so y stays y.

Is a comma needed before y?

Normally, no. Spanish typically avoids a comma before y when joining two related clauses: …empezó a llover y ni siquiera tenía paraguas. A comma might appear in special cases (very long clauses, change of subject, parentheticals), but not here.

Why does empezó have an accent?

It’s the preterite third person singular, stressed on the last syllable: em-pe-zó. Since it ends in a vowel, the accent mark is needed to indicate the correct stress. Empezo (without accent) would be mis-stressed.

Pronunciation tips for llover, ni siquiera, and paraguas?

Llover: In most of Spain, ll sounds like English “y”: yo-VER. The v is a soft “b” sound in Spanish.
Ni siquiera: stress sie (see-KYE-ra).
Paraguas: stress the second syllable: pa-RA-guas.

Could I use the present perfect: De repente ha empezado a llover?

Yes, especially in Spain when the event is within a time frame linked to the present (e.g., today). You could say: De repente ha empezado a llover y ni siquiera tenía/llevaba paraguas. The perfect (ha empezado) highlights current relevance; tenía/llevaba still describes the background situation.

Would ni siquiera llevaba paraguas work instead of tenía?

Yes, with a slightly different nuance. Tenía can mean possession or simply “had one with them.” Llevaba focuses on carrying it at that moment. So …ni siquiera llevaba paraguas = “wasn’t even carrying an umbrella.” Both are natural; choose based on the nuance you want.

Are there synonyms for de repente in Spain?

Yes: de pronto, de golpe, de sopetón (colloquial), de súbito (formal). All mean “suddenly,” with varying register. Example: De pronto empezó a llover.