La raíz puede pudrirse.

can

Breakdown of La raíz puede pudrirse.

• la raíz: the root
• pudrirse: to rot

Questions & Answers about La raíz puede pudrirse.

Why is it la raíz and not el raíz?

Because raíz is a feminine noun in Spanish, so it takes la in the singular: la raíz.

This is something learners often have to memorize, because noun gender does not always match the ending. Even though raíz ends in a consonant, it is still feminine.

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Why is there an article at all? Why not just say Raíz puede pudrirse?

In Spanish, singular countable nouns usually need an article or some other determiner. So la raíz sounds natural, while raíz by itself would usually sound incomplete.

Spanish uses articles more often than English in many cases, so la raíz is the normal choice here.

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What form is puede?

Puede is the third-person singular present indicative of poder.

It matches the subject la raíz, which is singular:

• yo puedo
• tú puedes
• él / ella / usted puede

So here, la raíz puede... = the root can / may...

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Does puede mean can, may, or might here?