Breakdown of Mi primo dice que se compromete con su novia hoy.
el primo
male cousin
mi
my
su
his/her/its/their/your (formal)
hoy
today
Questions & Answers about Mi primo dice que se compromete con su novia hoy.
Why does the sentence use con instead of a word for "to"?
In English, you get engaged "to" someone, but in Spanish, the verb comprometerse (to get engaged) always pairs with the preposition con (with). You will see this a lot with relationship verbs, like casarse con (to get married to).
Why is there a se before compromete?
To mean "to get engaged," the verb must be reflexive: comprometerse. Without the se, the verb comprometer means "to compromise" or "to involve" someone else. The se shows that he is making a personal commitment.
The English translation says "is getting," but compromete is in the simple present tense. Why not use the present progressive?
In Spanish, you can often use the simple present tense to talk about future events that are planned or very certain, especially if they are happening soon (like hoy, today). You could use the present progressive here, but the simple present is much more common and natural for scheduled events.
Since they are getting engaged, shouldn't a word for "fiancée" be used instead of novia?