La conductora frenó al ver un bache en medio de la carretera.

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Breakdown of La conductora frenó al ver un bache en medio de la carretera.

• ver: to see
• al: when
• la carretera: the road

Questions & Answers about La conductora frenó al ver un bache en medio de la carretera.

Why is it la conductora and not el conductor?

Conductora is the feminine form of conductor, meaning driver.

• el conductor = a male driver
• la conductora = a female driver

Spanish often changes -or to -ora for the feminine form in words like this.

What tense is frenó?

Frenó is in the preterite tense, third person singular.

It comes from the verb frenar = to brake.

So:

• yo frené = I braked
• tú frenaste = you braked
• él/ella frenó = he/she braked

The preterite is used here because it describes a completed action in the past.

Why does frenó have an accent mark?

The accent mark in frenó shows both pronunciation and meaning.

• freno = I brake / brake
• frenó = he/she braked

Without the accent, it would be a different form. The accent tells you the stress falls on the last syllable: fre-NÓ.