Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): En el parque tiramos la pelota tan alto que casi toca las nubes. - In the park we throw the ball so high that it almost touches the clouds.

Tiramos ends in -mos, which clearly shows it is “we” (nosotros).
Saying Nosotros tiramos la pelota… is grammatically correct, but it often sounds unnecessary or overly emphatic in normal conversation.

So the sentence without nosotros is the natural default in Spanish.

How do I know if tiramos means “we throw” (present) or “we threw” (past)?

For -ar verbs, the nosotros form of the present and the simple past (preterite) is the same:

Present: (nosotros) tiramos = we throw / we are throwing
Preterite: (nosotros) tiramos = we threw

You know which one it is only from context:

If the story clearly talks about now / usually / regularly, it’s present:
En el parque tiramos la pelota… = In the park we (usually) throw the ball…
If the context is a specific past event, it’s past:
Ayer en el parque tiramos la pelota… = Yesterday in the park we threw the ball…

With no extra context, many speakers would read your sentence as a habitual present (“When we’re in the park, we throw the ball so high…”).

Why is it “la pelota” and not “una pelota”?

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things:

la pelota = the ball
Refers to a specific ball that is already known in the situation (e.g. the ball we’re playing with).
una pelota = a ball
Refers to any ball, introducing it as new or non-specific.

In a typical storytelling or description of a familiar scene, Spanish often uses the definite article (la pelota) once the thing is clear from context, even sooner than English might.

Why is it “tan alto” and not “tan alta” if pelota is feminine?

Because tan alto here describes how we throw (the action), not the ball itself.

If it described the ball, it would agree in gender and number:
una pelota alta = a tall/high ball (strange meaning here)
In the sentence tiramos la pelota tan alto, alto works like an adverb:
- Literally: we throw the ball so high
- It’s modifying tiramos (how we throw), not pelota.

In Spanish, some adjectives in the masculine singular are used adverbially after verbs of movement:
correr rápido, saltar alto, volar bajo, tirar alto, etc.

What does the structure “tan … que …” mean?

Tan … que … expresses a degree or intensity that leads to a result, like “so … that …” in English.

tan alto que casi toca las nubes
= so high that it almost touches the clouds

Pattern:

tan + adjective/adverb + que + result clause

Examples:

Es tan difícil que nadie lo entiende.
It’s so difficult that nobody understands it.
Habla tan rápido que no le sigo.
He speaks so fast that I can’t follow him.

Compare with:

tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas + noun + que
Comió tanto chocolate que se mareó.
He ate so much chocolate that he felt dizzy.

Why is tiraMOS in the first part but toCA in the second part?

Because the subject changes between the two clauses:

En el parque tiramos la pelota…
- Implied subject: nosotros (we)
- Verb: tiramos (1st person plural)
… tan alto que casi toca las nubes.
- New subject: la pelota (the ball)
- Verb: toca (3rd person singular, it touches)

So the second verb agrees with la pelota, not with nosotros.

Why is it “toca las nubes” and not “toca a las nubes”?

With tocar in the sense of physically touching, you don’t use a preposition:

tocar algo = to touch something
tocar las nubes = to touch the clouds

The preposition a with tocar appears in different meanings, for example “it’s someone’s turn”:

Te toca a ti. = It’s your turn.
Le toca a Juan. = It’s Juan’s turn.

But physical contact uses direct object with no preposition.

Why is “casi” placed before “toca”? Can it go somewhere else?

The usual and most natural position is before the verb:

casi toca las nubes = it almost touches the clouds

You generally cannot separate casi from the verb it modifies. Other positions sound wrong or change the meaning:

✗ toca casi las nubes – not idiomatic here
✗ toca las nubes casi – also unnatural

So, keep casi directly before the verb it qualifies:
casi toca, casi llega, casi cae, etc.

Could we say “casi tocó las nubes” instead of “casi toca las nubes”?

Yes, you could say:

En el parque tiramos la pelota tan alto que casi tocó las nubes.

Then both verbs (tiramos, tocó) are clearly in the past (preterite). That would usually describe one specific event in the past.

In the original sentence:

tiramos / toca in the present can suggest something habitual or atemporal:
When we’re in the park, we throw the ball so high that it almost touches the clouds.

So the difference is mainly about time and aspect (habitual now vs specific past).

Why is it “las nubes” (plural) and not “la nube”?

It’s simply how both languages usually talk about the sky:

English: the clouds
Spanish: las nubes

We normally imagine many clouds in the sky, not one specific cloud. Using the plural sounds more natural and idiomatic.

You could say la nube if you were referring to a specific single cloud (e.g. that one over the mountain), but here the plural is the standard choice.

Why is the preposition “en” used in “En el parque” and not “a” or “al”?

Because en means “in / inside / at (location)”:

En el parque = in the park / at the park

A / al usually indicates direction or movement towards a place:

Voy al parque. = I’m going to the park.
Llevamos la pelota al parque. = We take the ball to the park.

Here, the sentence describes what happens in that place, not movement toward it, so en el parque is correct.

Could we replace “tirar la pelota” with “lanzar la pelota”? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say lanzar la pelota, and it’s correct:

En el parque lanzamos la pelota tan alto que casi toca las nubes.

Differences:

tirar is very common and informal; it can mean:
- to throw (a ball, a stone)
- to throw away (trash)
lanzar is a bit more formal or neutral, often used for:
- sports (lanzar la pelota, lanzar un penalti)
- figurative “launch” (lanzar una campaña, lanzar un producto)

In everyday speech about kids playing in a park, tirar la pelota feels very natural in Spain.

Could we replace “tiramos la pelota” with “la tiramos”?

Yes, if la pelota is already clear from the context, you can use the direct object pronoun:

La tiramos tan alto que casi toca las nubes.
= We throw it so high that it almost touches the clouds.

Explanation:

la replaces la pelota (feminine singular direct object).
When you name the noun, you normally don’t also use the pronoun:
- ✔ Tiramos la pelota.
- ✔ La tiramos.
- ✗ La tiramos la pelota. (repetition; in Spain this sounds wrong in this context)

In your original sentence, keeping la pelota spelled out is perfect because it’s the first time it’s mentioned.