Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): En filosofía discutimos si el matrimonio y el divorcio cambian la forma en que las personas se prometen amor. - In philosophy we discuss whether marriage and divorce change the way people promise each other love.

En filosofía (without article, lowercase) is the usual way to refer to a school/university subject in general:
- En matemáticas estudiamos...
- En historia hablamos de...
If you say en la filosofía, it sounds like “in (the field of) philosophy” as a discipline or tradition, more abstract and general, not specifically “in class”.
En Filosofía with capital F is possible if you mean the specific subject/course called “Filosofía” on a timetable (like a course title). In everyday description, people still often write it lowercase.

So En filosofía discutimos… is naturally understood as “In philosophy (class) we discuss…”.

Why is the verb discutimos used instead of estamos discutiendo?

In Spanish, the simple present is much more common than in English for:

Habits or regular activities
- En filosofía discutimos… = “In philosophy we (usually / generally) discuss…”
Descriptions of what normally happens in a class, job, etc.

Using estamos discutiendo would sound like you are talking about right now, at this very moment:

En filosofía estamos discutiendo si… = “Right now in philosophy (class), we are discussing whether…”

Since the sentence is describing the general content of the course, discutimos is the natural choice.

Why is there no nosotros before discutimos?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, nosotros, etc.) are usually dropped because the verb ending already shows the subject.

discutimos = “we discuss” (only nosotros can use this form)
Adding nosotros is not wrong, it just adds emphasis:
- En filosofía discutimos… → neutral, normal
- En filosofía nosotros discutimos… → contrasts with others (we do; maybe other classes don’t)

So it’s more natural and less heavy to simply say discutimos without nosotros.

Does discutimos mean “we argue” or “we discuss”? In English “discuss” and “argue” are different.

In Spanish, discutir can mean both:

To discuss / debate (more neutral, academic):
- En filosofía discutimos si… → “we discuss / debate whether…”
To argue / quarrel (in everyday speech):
- Ayer discutí con mi pareja. → “Yesterday I argued with my partner.”

Here, in an academic context (En filosofía…), it clearly means “to discuss / to debate”, not “to have a fight”.

Why is it si without an accent, not sí?

Spanish distinguishes:

si (no accent) = “if / whether”
- discutimos si el matrimonio y el divorcio cambian…
  → “we discuss whether marriage and divorce change…”
sí (with accent) = “yes” or reflexive “oneself”
- Sí, quiero. → “Yes, I do.”
- Pensaba para sí. → “He was thinking to himself.”

In this sentence you need “whether”, so it must be si without an accent.

Why do we say el matrimonio y el divorcio and not los matrimonios y los divorcios?

Here, el matrimonio and el divorcio are being used as general concepts, not as individual cases.

Spanish often uses the singular with the definite article to talk about a concept in general:
- El amor es importante. → Love is important.
- El matrimonio ha cambiado mucho. → Marriage has changed a lot.
You could say los matrimonios y los divorcios, but that would make you think more of individual marriages and divorces (specific instances).

So el matrimonio y el divorcio is the normal way to refer to “marriage and divorce as institutions/concepts”.

Why is the verb cambian plural and not cambia?

Because the subject of the verb is two things:

Subject: el matrimonio y el divorcio
That is equivalent to: ellos (they)
So the verb must be third person plural:
- El matrimonio y el divorcio cambian… → “Marriage and divorce change…”

If the subject were singular, you’d use cambia:

El matrimonio cambia… → “Marriage changes…”
El divorcio cambia… → “Divorce changes…”

What exactly does la forma en que mean, and are there alternatives?

La forma en que literally means “the way in which”.

la forma = “the way / manner”
en que = “in which”

So:

la forma en que las personas se prometen amor
≈ “the way (in which) people promise each other love”

Common alternatives:

la manera en que… (very similar)
la forma en la que… (adds la, also correct)
cómo las personas se prometen amor (more direct, using cómo)

All of these are grammatically fine, but la forma en que is very standard and slightly more formal/neutral.

Could you say la forma que las personas se prometen amor without en?

No, that would be incorrect. You need the preposition + relative pronoun combination.

Fixed pattern: la forma en que… / la manera en que…
You cannot just drop en:
- ❌ la forma que las personas se prometen amor
- ✅ la forma en que las personas se prometen amor

Think of it as a chunk: forma en que ≈ “way in which”. The en is part of the structure and can’t be omitted here.

Can we say la forma en la que instead of la forma en que?

Yes, both are correct:

la forma en que las personas se prometen amor
la forma en la que las personas se prometen amor

Adding la inside (en la que) is very common and fully acceptable.
The version in your sentence (en que) is slightly more concise; style preference.

Why is las personas used instead of la gente?

Both can mean “people”, but they feel different:

las personas (plural noun)
- Emphasizes individual people as separate persons.
- Slightly more formal / precise.
la gente (singular collective noun)
- More like “people in general / folks”.
- More colloquial.

You could say:

…cambian la forma en que la gente se promete amor.

That would sound natural and a bit more informal/general.
Using las personas sounds a bit more careful or academic, fitting the philosophy context.

Why is there se in las personas se prometen amor? What does it do?

Here se shows a reciprocal action: the people promise each other love.

prometer = “to promise”
prometerse (with se) = “to promise to each other” in this context
las personas se prometen amor ≈ “people promise each other love”

The se is the indirect object pronoun standing for a sí mismas / unas a otras (to one another).
If you remove se, the meaning changes:

las personas prometen amor → just “people promise love” (to someone, unspecified)
las personas se prometen amor → people promise love to one another (reciprocal)

You can make it extra clear:

las personas se prometen amor unas a otras
(but usually se alone is enough).

Why is amor used with no article? Why not el amor or su amor?

Here amor is an abstract, uncountable idea of love in general.

prometer amor → “to promise love” (in general)
No article is needed for many abstract/mass nouns in this kind of construction:
- prometer ayuda → to promise help
- prometer apoyo → to promise support

If you said:

se prometen el amor → “they promise the love” (sounds odd, too specific)
se prometen su amor → “they promise their love (to each other)” (more specific, emotional, like in a romantic declaration)

In a philosophical, general sentence, prometer amor (no article) is the most neutral and natural.

Is se prometen amor a fixed expression? Could we also say prometerse amor?

Both forms are closely related:

(las personas) se prometen amor
→ literally “people promise each other love”
prometerse amor
→ infinitive form: “to promise each other love”

So prometerse amor is simply the infinitive/pronominal version of what appears conjugated as se prometen amor.

There is also an idiomatic use:

prometerse alone can mean “to get engaged” (to be promised in marriage):
- Se han prometido. → They have gotten engaged.

In your sentence, though, se prometen amor is being used in the literal sense of “promising each other love”, not necessarily “getting engaged”.

Could we say cambian cómo las personas se prometen amor instead of cambian la forma en que…?

Yes, that is also grammatically correct:

…cambian cómo las personas se prometen amor.

Differences in nuance:

la forma en que…
- Slightly more formal / academic.
- Emphasizes “the way/manner in which…”.
cómo…
- A bit more direct and colloquial.
- Feels closer to spoken language.

In a philosophy-class type sentence, la forma en que sounds very natural and slightly more formal, which matches the context well.