La campaña electoral termina antes de las elecciones.

Breakdown of La campaña electoral termina antes de las elecciones.

antes de
before
terminar
to finish
las elecciones
the elections
la campaña electoral
the election campaign

Questions & Answers about La campaña electoral termina antes de las elecciones.

Why does electoral come after campaña instead of before it?

In Spanish, many descriptive adjectives commonly come after the noun. So campaña electoral is the normal way to say electoral campaign or election campaign.

Putting the adjective before the noun is sometimes possible in Spanish, but it often changes the tone or emphasis. In this case, campaña electoral is the standard, natural expression.

Why is it la campaña electoral and not just campaña electoral?

Spanish often uses the definite article el/la/los/las more often than English does.

Here, la campaña electoral means the election campaign in a general or specific sense. Spanish commonly includes the article when talking about something known, expected, or understood from context.

So even if English might sometimes say Election campaigning ends before the elections, Spanish naturally says La campaña electoral...

Why is it termina and not terminan?

Because the subject is la campaña electoral, which is singular.

  • La campaña electoral = singular
  • termina = third person singular of terminar

So the verb must match the singular subject:

  • La campaña electoral termina
  • not La campaña electoral terminan
What tense is termina?

Termina is the present simple.

It is the third person singular form of terminar:

  • yo termino
  • terminas
  • él/ella/usted termina

In sentences like this, Spanish often uses the present simple to state a general fact, schedule, or standard sequence of events.

Why does the sentence use antes de instead of just antes?

Because antes normally needs de when it is followed by a noun.

Here, las elecciones is a noun phrase, so you say:

Compare:

  • antes de las elecciones = before the elections
  • antes de votar = before voting
  • antes = before / earlier, when no noun or infinitive follows directly

So de is required here.

Why is it las elecciones in the plural?

In Spanish, elecciones is usually used in the plural when referring to an election event.

So Spanish says:

  • las elecciones = the elections

Even though English often says the election in the singular, Spanish commonly uses the plural form for this concept.

Is campaña electoral the same as elecciones?

No. They refer to different things.

  • la campaña electoral = the election campaign, the period when parties and candidates campaign
  • las elecciones = the elections themselves, when people vote

So the sentence means that the campaign period ends before voting day or before the election event.

Could I also say La campaña electoral acaba antes de las elecciones?

Yes. Acaba would also be natural here.

Both termina and acaba can mean ends:

  • La campaña electoral termina antes de las elecciones
  • La campaña electoral acaba antes de las elecciones

Termina is slightly more neutral and formal in many contexts, while acaba is also very common and natural.

Why isn’t it se termina?

Because terminar works perfectly well here as a normal verb without se.

  • La campaña electoral termina... = The campaign ends...

You may also hear se termina, which can sound a bit more like comes to an end or can simply be another natural way to express the same idea in some contexts. But in this sentence, plain termina is completely correct and straightforward.

How would I know that electoral agrees with campaña if it doesn’t change form?

Good question. Some Spanish adjectives change form for gender and number, but others do not change for masculine/feminine in the singular.

Electoral is one of those adjectives:

  • campaña electoral (feminine singular)
  • proceso electoral (masculine singular)

It does change in the plural:

  • campañas electorales
  • procesos electorales

So it agrees in number, but not in masculine/feminine form.

Is this sentence talking about a specific election or elections in general?

It could be understood either way, depending on context.

  • In a specific news or political context, it can mean The election campaign ends before the elections
  • More generally, it can express a regular fact about how the process works

Spanish often uses the definite article in both specific and general statements, so the surrounding context tells you which meaning is intended.

How is elecciones pronounced in Spain?

In standard peninsular Spanish, elecciones is pronounced approximately:

eh-lek-THYO-nes

Key points for Spain:

  • the ci in -ciones is often pronounced with a th sound, like in thin
  • the stress is on -o-: elecCIOnes

A rough breakdown:

  • e
  • lec
  • cio
  • nes

So: eh-lek-THYO-nes.

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