Word
Copia la línea y pégala en el documento.
Meaning
Copy the line and paste it into the document.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Copia la línea y pégala en el documento.
en
in
y
and
el documento
the document
.
period
la
it
copiar
to copy
pegar
to paste
la línea
the line
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Questions & Answers about Copia la línea y pégala en el documento.
Which verb forms are used in this sentence?
Both verbs are affirmative imperatives in the second person singular (tú) of Spain: copia (copy) and pégala (paste it).
Why is the pronoun attached to the verb in pégala?
In affirmative commands, object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb (enclitic position). Since the thing being pasted (the line) is already known, Spanish uses the direct object pronoun la and attaches it to pega, giving pégala. In negative commands, the pronoun goes before the verb: No la pegues.
Why does pégala have an accent mark?
When you attach a pronoun to an affirmative command, you may need a written accent to keep the original stress. Pega is stressed on the first syllable (PE-ga). Attaching -la would normally shift the stress to the penultimate syllable (pe-GA-la), so we write pégala to keep the stress on the first syllable.
What does la refer to, and why not lo?
La is the feminine direct object pronoun matching la línea (line), which is feminine. If the object were masculine, e.g., el párrafo (paragraph), you’d say cópialo y pégalo.
Could I say pega la (separate) instead of pégala?
Not in standard Spanish for affirmative commands. The pronoun must be attached: pégala. Only in negative commands does the pronoun go before the verb: No la pegues.
Why is it Copia la línea and not Cópiala la línea?
You either use the full noun phrase or the pronoun, not both. So:
- With the noun: Copia la línea.
- With a pronoun (when the noun is omitted): Cópiala. In the second clause, the noun is omitted, so Spanish uses the pronoun: … y pégala.
Is pegar really the right verb for “to paste” in computing?
Yes. In computer contexts, copiar y pegar means “copy and paste.” Note that pegar also means “to hit” or “to glue,” but here it clearly means “to paste.”
Why is it en el documento and not al documento?
For digital “paste,” Spanish typically uses pegar … en (paste … in/into): pégala en el documento. Pegar … a suggests attaching something to something else (physically gluing it) and sounds odd in the computing sense.
How would this change for formal or plural commands in Spain?
- Usted (formal singular): Copie la línea y péguela en el documento.
- Vosotros (informal plural, Spain): Copiad la línea y pegadla en el documento.
- Ustedes (formal plural in Spain; default plural in Latin America): Copien la línea y péguenla en el documento. Note the accents in péguela and péguenla to preserve stress.
Why does línea have an accent?
Línea has an accent on the í to break what would otherwise be a diphthong and to mark the stress: lí-ne-a (three syllables), stressed on the first syllable.
Can I make the object plural?
Yes. For plural feminine: Cópialas y pégalas en el documento (copy the lines and paste them). For plural masculine: Cópialos y pégalos.