Word
Mi madre compró otra docena de huevos y un kilo de patatas porque mañana vienen mis tíos a desayunar.
Meaning
My mother bought another dozen eggs and a kilo of potatoes because my aunt and uncle are coming for breakfast tomorrow.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Mi madre compró otra docena de huevos y un kilo de patatas porque mañana vienen mis tíos a desayunar.
un
a
mi
my
a
to
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and
Questions & Answers about Mi madre compró otra docena de huevos y un kilo de patatas porque mañana vienen mis tíos a desayunar.
Why is it compró and not compra or ha comprado?
Compró is the preterite of comprar and means bought: a completed action in the past.
- mi madre compró = my mother bought
- mi madre compra = my mother buys / is buying
- mi madre ha comprado = my mother has bought
In this sentence, the buying is presented as a finished event, so compró is the most natural choice.
Also, the accent matters:
- compro = I buy / I bought depending on context? Actually in normal modern use, compro is I buy
- compró = he/she/it bought
So compró specifically tells you the subject is she here: mi madre.
Why does compró have an accent mark?
The accent mark helps distinguish different forms of the verb.
- compro = I buy
- compró = he/she bought
Without the accent, the form would be read differently. In Spanish, accent marks are often important for telling verb forms apart.
Why is it otra docena and not ?