Question 1

Why is iba used here instead of the past tense fue?

Accepted Answer

Iba is the imperfect tense of the irregular verb ir (to go). The imperfect is used to talk about habits in the past (like "used to go") or to describe an ongoing action (like "was going"). If we used the completed past tense fue, it would mean the tram went down the street one specific time and the trip was finished.

Question 2

Why use por to say "down" the street?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, por is used to express movement through, along, or around a place. Since the tram is moving along the length of the street, por is the right word. You will often see por la calle translated as "down the street" or "along the street."

Question 3

Tranvía ends in -a, so why does it use the masculine word el?

Accepted Answer

Tranvía is an exception to the normal gender rules! Even though it ends in -a, it is a masculine noun, so it takes el. Other common masculine words you may remember that end in -a include el problema, el mapa, and el día.

Question 4

Why does the adjective ancha come after calle?

Accepted Answer

In English we say "wide street," but in Spanish, descriptive adjectives like ancha (wide) almost always come after the noun they describe. Notice that it also ends in -a to match the feminine noun la calle.

El tranvía iba por la calle ancha.

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