Breakdown of Usamos el grano tostado.
usar
to use / to wear
el grano
the grain / the bean
tostar
to roast / to toast
Questions & Answers about Usamos el grano tostado.
Why does tostado end in -ado?
Tostado comes from the verb tostar, which means to roast or to toast. To form the regular past participle of an -ar verb, you drop the -ar ending and add -ado. In this sentence, it is used to mean roasted.
Is tostado acting as a verb or an adjective here?
If we were talking about multiple beans, would tostado change?
Yes, it would. Because it is acting as an adjective here, it must agree with the noun in both gender and number. If we said the roasted beans (los granos), the participle would add an -s to match: los granos tostados.
How do we know usamos means we use and not we used?
Out of context, you do not! For regular -ar verbs like usar, the present tense we form and the past tense (preterite) we form are exactly the same: usamos. You usually rely on the rest of the conversation or time markers to know which tense is meant.
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