Breakdown of La gente se desmaya cuando ve fantasmas en la oscuridad.
en
in / on / at
ver
to see / to look / appear
la gente
the people
cuando
when (statement)
desmayarse
to faint
el fantasma
the ghost
la oscuridad
the darkness
Questions & Answers about La gente se desmaya cuando ve fantasmas en la oscuridad.
Why do we use the present tense for ve after cuando here?
Since this sentence describes a general fact or a regular habit, we use cuando followed by the normal present tense, which is called the present indicative. You only use different tenses after cuando if you are talking about an event in the past or a pending event in the future.
English says 'people faint' (plural), so why does Spanish use the singular verbs se desmaya and ve?
Why is there a se before desmaya?
The Spanish verb for 'to faint' or 'to pass out' is desmayarse, which is a reflexive verb. The se is the third-person reflexive pronoun that matches the subject la gente.
The word fantasmas ends in -as. Does that mean it is feminine?
No, it is actually masculine! The singular form is el fantasma. Many Spanish nouns that end in -ma, such as el problema or el idioma, are exceptions to the usual gender rules and are masculine.
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