¿Compartimos el algodón de azúcar?

Yes, compartimos is literally the present tense form meaning we share. But in Spanish, the present tense is also often used to make a suggestion or proposal, especially in a question.

So ¿Compartimos el algodón de azúcar? can mean something like:

• Shall we share the cotton candy?
• Do we share the cotton candy? depending on context

In everyday conversation, the intended meaning is usually clear from the situation and tone.

This is similar to English using the present in suggestions, like So, we split it?

Spanish usually drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• compartimos = we share / shall we share

So nosotros is unnecessary here.

You could say ¿Nosotros compartimos el algodón de azúcar?, but that sounds more emphatic or contrastive, as if you were stressing we rather than someone else.

Here, el is the definite article, meaning the.

Spanish often uses articles in places where English may or may not use them. In this sentence, el algodón de azúcar most naturally refers to a specific cotton candy that both speakers can identify, for example one they are holding or looking at.

So the sense is:

• the cotton candy
• this cotton candy

If you said ¿Compartimos un algodón de azúcar?, that would sound more like Shall we share a cotton candy / one cotton candy?, focusing on getting one to share rather than referring to a specific one already present.

Word by word:

• algodón = cotton
• de = of
• azúcar = sugar

So literally it is cotton of sugar, which corresponds to cotton candy in English.

This is a fixed expression in Spanish. Even though the literal wording is different from English, it is the normal name for the sweet.

Yes, algodón de azúcar is standard and widely understood in Spain.

You may also hear other terms in different Spanish-speaking countries, such as:

• algodón dulce
• dulce de algodón
• regional variants

But for Spain, algodón de azúcar is completely natural.

Not normally.

Compartamos is the present subjunctive form, and by itself it does not sound like the normal way to make this suggestion in this sentence.

For a natural suggestion, Spanish usually uses:

• ¿Compartimos el algodón de azúcar? = Shall we share the cotton candy?
• Compartamos el algodón de azúcar. = more like Let’s share the cotton candy.

So:

• ¿Compartimos...? = suggestion phrased as a question
• Compartamos... = direct exhortation or proposal

Spanish uses opening and closing question marks:

• ¿ at the beginning
• ? at the end

So every direct question is written with both.

That means:

• ¿Compartimos el algodón de azúcar? is correct
• Compartimos el algodón de azúcar? is not standard Spanish punctuation

This is one of the first writing conventions English speakers need to get used to in Spanish.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• algodón ≈ ahl-go-DON
• de ≈ deh
• azúcar ≈ ah-SOO-kar in much of Latin America, or ah-THOO-kar in most of Spain

A few useful points:

• algodón is stressed on the last syllable: -dón
• azúcar is stressed on the first syllable: a-
• In most of Spain, z is pronounced like the th in think

So in Spain, a rough guide would be:

ahl-go-DON deh ah-THOO-kar

It is neutral and very natural in everyday speech.

Because compartimos is first person plural, it includes both the speaker and the listener, so it does not really depend on tú versus usted in the same way that many other verbs do.

It works well in casual situations like talking to:

• a friend
• a sibling
• a date
• someone you are spending time with

If you wanted to sound more formal or polite in a different kind of context, you might choose a different structure altogether, such as a more indirect question.

You probably could in some contexts, but it changes the feel.

• ¿Compartimos el algodón de azúcar? suggests a specific cotton candy
• ¿Compartimos algodón de azúcar? sounds more general, more like Do we share cotton candy? or Shall we have/share some cotton candy?

In the situation where one cotton candy is already there, el is the most natural choice.

Compartimos is the present indicative, first person plural, from compartir.

It can be ambiguous because the same form can also match the preterite in some contexts for some verbs, but here, with the question format and everyday context, it is understood as a present-time suggestion.

So in this sentence, learners should read it as:

• we share / shall we share

not as a past-tense form.

Yes. Compartir is a regular -ir verb.

Its present tense forms are:

• comparto = I share
• compartes = you share
• comparte = he/she shares
• compartimos = we share
• compartís = you all share in Spain
• comparten = they/you all share

So compartimos follows the normal regular pattern for -ir verbs.

Yes, if the object is already obvious from context.

Lo means it, so:

• ¿Lo compartimos? = Shall we share it?

This is very natural if both people already know what it refers to.

The full sentence ¿Compartimos el algodón de azúcar? is clearer when you want to name the thing directly.