Mi portátil no funciona sin cargador.

My laptop doesn't work without a charger.

Breakdown of Mi portátil no funciona sin cargador.

• mi: my
• sin: without
• no: not
• el portátil: the laptop

Questions & Answers about Mi portátil no funciona sin cargador.

Is portátil a noun or an adjective here, and what gender is it?

Here portátil is a noun meaning “laptop.” In Spain it’s usually masculine: el portátil / mi portátil. As an adjective, portátil means “portable” and is invariable for gender (e.g., un altavoz portátil, una radio portátil).

Why is it funciona and not something like trabaja?

Spanish uses funcionar for machines/devices to mean “to work/operate.” Trabajar is used for people (and metaphorically for systems), not for gadgets. So: Mi portátil no funciona, not no trabaja.

Why is there no article after sin? Could I say sin el cargador or sin su cargador?

• Sin cargador = “without a charger” in a general, non-specific sense (most natural here).
• Sin el cargador = “without the charger” (a specific one, e.g., the one that came with it).
• Sin su cargador = “without its charger,” explicitly tying it to the laptop’s own charger. All are correct; choose based on how specific you want to be. Note: there’s no contraction with sin (it stays sin el, not something like “sinel”).

Could I say no puede funcionar instead of no funciona?