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El guardia declaró que habían detenido al sospechoso sin motivo.

El guardia declaró que habían detenido al sospechoso sin motivo.
The guard stated that they had arrested the suspect without a motive.
From Lesson 189:Reported speech for the past (había...)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El guardia declaró que habían detenido al sospechoso sin motivo.

Why do we use the past perfect habían detenido here instead of the simple past?
The reporting verb declaró is in the past. If the guard's original statement used the simple past or present perfect (e.g., 'they arrested' or 'they have arrested'), reported speech rules shift it one step further back into the past. This turns it into the past perfect: 'they had arrested' (habían detenido).
Why does guardia take the masculine article El even though it ends in an 'a'?
Guardia is a word that matches the gender of the person it refers to. El guardia means a male guard, while la guardia means a female guard. Be aware that la guardia can also refer to the guard or police force as a collective group.
Why is there an al before sospechoso?
This is a great example of the 'personal a'. When the direct object of a verb is a specific person, like a suspect, Spanish requires an a before it. Here, that a combines with the masculine article el to form the mandatory contraction al.
Does motivo always mean a criminal 'motive'?
Not necessarily! While it translates perfectly to a criminal motive in this police context, motivo is the everyday Spanish word for 'reason' or 'cause'. The phrase sin motivo is just how you say 'for no reason' or 'without cause' in normal conversation.

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