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El perro no come la manzana.

El perro no come la manzana.
The dog does not eat the apple.
From Lesson 3:Basic sentences and negation (no)·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of El perro no come la manzana.

no
no, not
comer
to eat
la manzana
the apple
el perro
the dog

Questions & Answers about El perro no come la manzana.

In English we say "does not eat", but here it is just no come. Where is the word for "does"?
Spanish doesn't use helper words like "do" or "does" to make a negative sentence. To say that someone or something doesn't do an action, you simply put no directly in front of the verb. So, no come translates perfectly to "does not eat".
Can I put the no after the verb, like El perro come no la manzana?
No, in Spanish the rule for basic negation is very strict: the no must go immediately before the conjugated verb (come). The order will always be Subject (El perro) + no + Verb (come) + Object (la manzana).
Why does the verb end in "-e" (come) instead of "-o" (como)?
The verb changes its ending to match whoever is doing the action. Como means "I eat". Since the subject of this sentence is el perro (the dog), which counts as a "he" or "it" (third person singular), you have to use the matching ending for the verb comer (to eat), which is come.
Could this sentence also mean "The dog is not eating the apple"?
Yes! In Spanish, the simple present tense often covers both actions that happen regularly ("eats") and actions happening right now ("is eating"). Therefore, El perro no come la manzana can mean both "The dog does not eat the apple" and "The dog is not eating the apple."

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