Breakdown of Cualquiera puede aprender español.
el español
Spanish (language)
aprender
to learn
poder
to be able to / can
cualquiera
any (whichever) / anyone
Questions & Answers about Cualquiera puede aprender español.
Why is it cualquiera instead of cualquier?
In this sentence, cualquiera is a pronoun meaning "anyone" and stands on its own. Similar to the current lesson where alguno drops its ending to become algún, cualquiera drops its final "a" to become cualquier when placed right before a singular noun (like cualquier persona). Since it stands alone here as the subject, it keeps its full form.
Why do we use the singular verb puede for "anyone"?
Even though "anyone" refers to people in general, cualquiera is grammatically singular. Just like in English where we say "anyone is" (not "anyone are"), you use the third-person singular (he/she/it) conjugation for verbs that follow it.
Why is aprender left in its dictionary form?
Because it directly follows the conjugated verb puede. When combining verbs to say what someone "can do", only the first verb is conjugated to match the subject. The second verb stays in its infinitive (unconjugated) form.
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