Learn Spanish (Latin America): Esa generación emigró a otro país hace diez años. - That generation emigrated to another country ten years ago.

Esa generación emigró a otro país hace diez años.

That generation emigrated to another country ten years ago.

Breakdown of Esa generación emigró a otro país hace diez años.

Questions & Answers about Esa generación emigró a otro país hace diez años.

How does hace diez años mean "ten years ago"?

The verb hacer literally means "to do" or "to make", but when you use hace followed by an amount of time for a completed past action, it translates to "ago". So hace diez años means "ten years ago". Notice that hace stays in this singular form, even though diez años is plural.

Why is it just otro país instead of un otro país for "another country"?

In English, we combine words to say "an-other" (an + other), but in Spanish, the word otro already means "another". You never put un or una in front of it. Saying un otro is a common trap for English speakers, so just remember it is always simply otro país.

Why does this sentence use the singular verb emigró if a generation is made up of many people?

Even though a generación (generation) includes many people, the word itself is a singular noun representing one group. Because of this, it uses the singular "it" form of the past tense verb: emigró (it emigrated).

Why do we use esa instead of ese for "that"?