Breakdown of Habíamos leído sobre la pirámide de esta antigua civilización.
de
from / of
leer
to read
esta
this (feminine)
antiguo
ancient
haber
(auxiliary) have
sobre
on / over / about (a topic)
la civilización
the civilization
la pirámide
the pyramid
Questions & Answers about Habíamos leído sobre la pirámide de esta antigua civilización.
How do we form the "had read" part of this sentence?
The phrase habíamos leído is in the past perfect tense. It is made up of two parts: the imperfect tense of the helper verb haber (habíamos, meaning "we had") and the past participle of the main verb leer (leído, meaning "read").
Why does the past participle leído have an accent mark?
The accent mark on the "i" tells you to pronounce the vowels "e" and "i" as two separate syllables (le-í-do). Normally in Spanish, a strong vowel like "e" and a weak vowel like "i" blend together into a single syllable. The accent breaks this blend, which is a common pattern for verbs ending in "-aer", "-eer", and "-oír".
Why is the adjective antigua placed before civilización instead of after it?
In Spanish, adjectives usually come after the noun. However, putting a descriptive adjective before the noun, like antigua civilización, gives it a more poetic or literary tone. It emphasizes the inherent age of the civilization as its defining characteristic, rather than just distinguishing it from a "modern" one.
Why doesn't esta have an accent mark here?
It is important not to confuse esta (this) with está (is). Without the accent mark, esta is a demonstrative adjective meaning "this", which matches the feminine singular noun civilización. If it had an accent on the last letter (está), it would be a form of the verb estar.
Learn Habíamos leído sobre la pirámide de esta antigua civilización and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free