Breakdown of Usted dijo que el ladrón cometía el crimen y amenazaba al guardia.
y
and
usted
you (formal)
al
to the
que
that / than
decir
to say, to tell
el guardia
the guard
el ladrón
the thief
cometer
to commit
el crimen
the crime
amenazar
to threaten
Questions & Answers about Usted dijo que el ladrón cometía el crimen y amenazaba al guardia.
Why are the verbs cometía and amenazaba in the imperfect tense here?
This is a classic example of reported speech. Because the reporting verb is in the past (dijo), the tense of the original statement shifts a step back in time. The original speaker used the present tense to describe what was happening. When reporting those present-tense actions in the past, they shift to the imperfect tense.
What would the original direct quote look like in Spanish?
The English translation says "was committing" and "threatening". Could I just translate it as "committed" and "threatened"?
Why is there an al before guardia?
This is the "personal a" combined with the masculine article el (a + el = al). Whenever a specific person (like the guard) is the direct object receiving the action of a verb—in this case, being threatened—Spanish requires you to put an a in front of them.
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