Breakdown of La temperatura del agua sube rápido en verano.
Questions & Answers about La temperatura del agua sube rápido en verano.
Temperatura is a feminine noun in Spanish, so it takes the feminine article la.
- la temperatura = the temperature
- el is used with masculine nouns (e.g. el calor – the heat)
- la is used with feminine nouns (e.g. la temperatura, la humedad)
The gender is simply part of the word’s dictionary entry: you learn temperatura (f.), so you must say la temperatura.
Del is a mandatory contraction of the preposition de + the masculine singular article el:
- de + el = del
So:
- ✗ la temperatura de el agua
- ✓ la temperatura del agua
In Spanish, de el almost always contracts to del (the main exception is when El is part of a proper name, like de El Salvador).
Agua is grammatically feminine, but in the singular it takes the masculine article el (and therefore del) for phonetic reasons: it starts with a stressed a sound.
- singular: el agua fría, del agua fría
- plural: las aguas frías, de las aguas frías
So in la temperatura del agua, del is actually de + el, and el is used just to avoid the awkward sound of la agua. The noun agua is still feminine (adjectives agree in feminine: agua fría, not agua frío).
The subject is la temperatura del agua.
- La temperatura del agua (subject)
- sube (verb, 3rd person singular)
- rápido en verano (adverbial information: how and when)
So the structure is:
La temperatura del agua (subject) sube (verb) rápido en verano (complements).
Spanish usually omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the subject.
- sube = “he/she/it goes up” or “goes up” (3rd person singular)
- From context, we know “it” is la temperatura del agua.
You could say ella sube, but it would sound unnatural and confusing here, because ella is normally used for a person or a clearly personified thing. In normal Spanish you just say:
- La temperatura del agua sube rápido en verano.
Both are grammatically correct, but they differ in style:
- sube rápido – common, everyday, especially in Spain; rápido is used as an adverb (“goes up quickly”).
- sube rápidamente – more formal or careful style; sounds a bit more “bookish”.
In modern Spanish, especially in speech, adjectives like rápido, lento, claro, fuerte are very often used as adverbs with verbs:
- Habla rápido. = He/She speaks quickly.
- Corre lento. = He/She runs slowly.
So sube rápido is very natural.
No, not in this sentence. Here rápido is functioning as an adverb (modifying sube), and adverbs are invariable in Spanish: they don’t change for gender or number.
- sube rápido – “goes up quickly”
- still rápido even though temperatura is feminine.
When rápido is an adjective, then it does change:
- un tren rápido – a fast train (masc. sing.)
- una respuesta rápida – a quick answer (fem. sing.)
- coches rápidos – fast cars (masc. pl.)
- reacciones rápidas – quick reactions (fem. pl.)
But in sube rápido, it stays the same.
No, that sounds wrong in standard Spanish.
- sube is already intransitive here (“goes up / rises”).
- Adding se (se sube) would suggest a reflexive meaning (“raises itself” / “gets itself up”), which is not how you talk about temperature in Spanish.
Correct options:
- La temperatura del agua sube rápido en verano.
- La temperatura del agua suele subir rápido en verano. (adds the idea of “usually”)
But not se sube in this context.
Yes, you can say:
- La temperatura del agua aumenta rápido en verano.
Both subir and aumentar work, but with a nuance:
- subir – everyday, very common for temperature, prices, levels, etc.
- La temperatura sube, los precios suben, el nivel del agua sube.
- aumentar – a bit more formal/technical; often used in scientific or written contexts.
Meaning-wise, here they both mean “to go up / to increase”. In casual speech in Spain, sube is more typical.
Both are possible, but they’re used slightly differently:
- en verano – the usual way to talk about the season in general (“in summer, as a season”).
- En verano hace calor. – In (the) summer it’s hot.
- en el verano – feels more specific or contrastive (“in that specific summer / in the summer as opposed to another time”), or sometimes just more formal.
In Spain, for general habitual statements like this one, en verano (without el) is by far the most common:
- La temperatura del agua sube rápido en verano.
Spanish uses the present tense very often for:
- general truths
- habitual actions
- things that regularly happen in certain conditions
So:
- La temperatura del agua sube rápido en verano.
= “Water temperature goes up quickly in summer (as a general fact).”
If you used the future (subirá), it would usually refer to a specific future situation:
- Este año, la temperatura del agua subirá rápido en verano.
= This year, the water temperature will go up quickly in summer.
In Spanish, when you identify whose temperature it is (which water’s temperature), you normally use de + definite article + noun:
- la temperatura del agua – the temperature of the water
- la temperatura del aire – the temperature of the air
- la temperatura de la habitación – the temperature of the room
De agua (without article) would suggest a more generic type, as in compounds like:
- un termómetro de agua – a water thermometer (a thermometer that uses water), not “the thermometer of the water”.
Here we mean the specific temperature of the water, so del agua is the normal form.
You cannot omit la here; it would be ungrammatical in standard Spanish.
Spanish generally requires an article with singular, countable nouns when you talk about them in a specific or generic way like this:
- La temperatura del agua sube rápido en verano.
- La gasolina está muy cara. – Petrol is very expensive.
Leaving the article out (Temperatura del agua sube…) sounds wrong; it feels like a label or a telegram style, not normal grammar. The article helps mark la temperatura as the subject of the sentence.