Breakdown of Los atletas entrenaban tantas horas como los corredores.
los
the (masculine plural)
la hora
the hour
como
as / like (such as, similar to)
entrenar
to train
el corredor
the runner
el atleta
the athlete
tanto
as much / as many / so much
Questions & Answers about Los atletas entrenaban tantas horas como los corredores.
Why does the sentence use tantas instead of tan or tantos?
We use tan with adjectives or adverbs (like "as fast as"), but when comparing nouns (things you can count or measure), we use a form of tanto. Because horas (hours) is a feminine, plural noun, the word changes to match it, giving us tantas.
Wait, why is it los atletas? Doesn't the -as ending make it feminine?
Atleta is one of those special words for people (like artista or dentista) that ends in -a whether you are talking about a man or a woman. To show gender, you just change the article: el atleta (male) or la atleta (female). Here, los atletas refers to a group of male athletes or a mixed-gender group.
Why is the verb entrenaban in the imperfect tense rather than the preterite (entrenaron)?
The imperfect tense (entrenaban) describes ongoing, background, or habitual actions in the past. It means the athletes "used to train" or "were training" this way as a routine. If we used the preterite (entrenaron), it would sound like a single, completed training session rather than a general habit.
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