Breakdown of Miramos al sospechoso que intenta escapar.
mirar
to look at / to watch
al
to the
que
that / than
intentar
to try
el sospechoso
the suspect
escapar
to escape
Questions & Answers about Miramos al sospechoso que intenta escapar.
Why does the Spanish sentence use que instead of quien if it means "who"?
In Spanish, que is the most common relative pronoun and can mean "that", "which", or "who". Even when referring to a person, que is usually the correct choice to link clauses like this. We generally only use quien after a preposition (like con or para) or when the clause is set off by commas.
Why is it al sospechoso instead of just el sospechoso?
al is a mandatory contraction of the preposition a and the article el. In this sentence, the a is the "personal a", which you must use when the direct object of an action is a specific person (or a beloved pet). Since the suspect is a person receiving the action of the verb, miramos a el sospechoso merges into miramos al sospechoso.
Doesn't mirar mean "to look"? Where is the Spanish word for "at"?
The verb mirar has the "at" built right into its meaning. It translates directly to "to look at" or "to watch". You don't need to add a separate preposition for "at". The a hidden inside the word al here is just the personal "a" required for a human object, not a translation of "at"!
The English translation says "is trying", so why is the verb intenta instead of está intentando?
In Spanish, the simple present tense (like intenta) is very flexible and often translates to the English present continuous ("is trying"). While está intentando is also grammatically correct here, Spanish speakers frequently use the simple present to describe actions happening right at this moment.
Learn Miramos al sospechoso que intenta escapar and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free