Breakdown of Al final de la primera parte, el marcador mostraba un empate.
un
a
primero
first
al final de
at the end of
mostrar
to show
Questions & Answers about Al final de la primera parte, el marcador mostraba un empate.
Why does the sentence start with al final instead of en el final?
Al final is the normal Spanish expression for at the end.
It is a contraction:
- a + el = al
So:
- al final = at the end
En el final is much less common in everyday Spanish and often sounds less natural here. In sports narration, al final de... is the standard way to say at the end of....
Examples:
- Al final del partido, todos aplaudieron.
- Al final de la película, lloré.
What does de la primera parte mean exactly?
De la primera parte means of the first half or more literally of the first part.
In a sports context, especially football/soccer, la primera parte usually means the first half.
Breakdown:
- de = of
- la = the
- primera = first
- parte = part / half
So in natural English, this part of the sentence is usually understood as:
- At the end of the first half...