Breakdown of Mi hermano prefiere seguir soltero y viajar antes de pensar en casarse.
mi
my
y
and
antes de
before
el hermano
the brother
Questions & Answers about Mi hermano prefiere seguir soltero y viajar antes de pensar en casarse.
Why are there so many infinitives (seguir, viajar, pensar, casarse) instead of conjugated verbs?
In Spanish, when you have a verb of preference, desire, intention, or start/stop/continue followed by another action, the second verb is usually in the infinitive.
- prefiere seguir = he prefers to continue
- prefiere … viajar = he prefers to travel
- antes de pensar = before thinking
- pensar en casarse = to think about getting married
Only the first main verb (prefiere) is conjugated to match the subject (mi hermano). The actions that are “dependent” on that main verb stay in the infinitive. This is very normal Spanish structure.
Why is it seguir soltero and not seguir siendo soltero?
Both are possible, but seguir soltero is shorter and completely natural.
- seguir soltero literally: to remain single / to stay single
Here seguir works like “to go on being / to remain”, and soltero is an adjective describing mi hermano. - seguir siendo soltero is more explicit (to continue being single), but it sounds a bit heavier and is usually only used if you really want to emphasize the being.
In everyday Spanish, seguir + adjective (seguir soltero, seguir feliz, seguir cansado) is very common and idiomatic.
Is soltero a noun (a bachelor) or an adjective (single) here?