Question 1

Why is crece in the present indicative here, rather than the subjunctive?

Accepted Answer

Because this sentence describes a general fact or a recurring situation. In Spanish, cuando is followed by the indicative to state what generally happens. If you were referring to an uncompleted future event (like "When the city grows fast next year..."), you would use the subjunctive (cuando la ciudad crezca...).

Question 2

Why use rápido instead of rápidamente to mean "fast" or "quickly"?

Accepted Answer

You can use either! Rápido is technically an adjective, but in everyday Spanish, it is very often used as an adverb to modify a verb (like crece). Rápidamente is also correct and means the exact same thing, though it sounds slightly more formal.

Question 3

Is there an easy way to remember the gender for words like ciudad and contaminación?

Accepted Answer

Yes, there is a very reliable rule for these endings. Nouns ending in -dad (like la ciudad, la verdad) and -ción (like la contaminación, la emoción) are almost always feminine.

Question 4

How would I change this sentence to use soler to say "When the city used to grow fast..."?

Accepted Answer

To talk about past habits, you would use the imperfect tense of soler followed by the infinitive of the main verb: Cuando la ciudad solía crecer rápido, había más contaminación. (When the city used to grow fast, there was more pollution).

Cuando la ciudad crece rápido, hay más contaminación.

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