Breakdown of Ellos compran el pollo, pero no el pescado.
Questions & Answers about Ellos compran el pollo, pero no el pescado.
Do I need a comma before pero?
Yes! Just like in English, it is standard to use a comma before pero (but) when connecting two contrasting ideas. It creates a natural pause before introducing the exception. I thought the word for fish was pez. Why does this sentence use pescado?
In Spanish, there is a big difference! A pez is a live fish swimming in the water. Once it is caught and prepared as food, it becomes pescado. Since they are buying it to eat, we use pescado. Could I say pero no compran el pescado instead?
Yes, absolutely. You can repeat the verb to say 'but they don't buy the fish.' However, just like in English, it is much more common and natural to drop the repeated verb and simply say pero no el pescado (but not the fish). Why is the verb compran and not comprar?
Comprar is the base form of the verb, meaning 'to buy'. Because the subject doing the buying is ellos (they), we drop the -ar ending and add the 'they' ending -an to get compran (they buy). Learn Ellos compran el pollo, pero no el pescado and more in Spanish
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