Learn Spanish (Latin America): Puesto que la marea está alta, navegamos a pesar de que llueve. - Since the tide is high, we sail even though it is raining.

Puesto que la marea está alta, navegamos a pesar de que llueve.

Since the tide is high, we sail even though it is raining.

Breakdown of Puesto que la marea está alta, navegamos a pesar de que llueve.

alto

tall / high

estar

to be (location/state)

Questions & Answers about Puesto que la marea está alta, navegamos a pesar de que llueve.

Why is llueve in the indicative here instead of the subjunctive?

The connector a pesar de que can trigger either the indicative or the subjunctive. We use the indicative (llueve) when declaring a known, established fact. Here, it is actually raining right now. If it were a hypothetical event (even if it rains), we would use the subjunctive (llueva).

What does puesto que mean, and how is it different from porque?

Puesto que translates to since or given that. While it works similarly to porque (because), it is usually used to state a cause that is already known to the listener, or to set up the context at the very beginning of a sentence.

Why do we use está instead of es for the tide being high?

We use está (from estar) because the tide being high is a temporary physical state. Since the water level changes throughout the day, it is a condition rather than a permanent characteristic.

Could we just say a pesar de llover in this sentence?

Yes! With weather verbs, or when the subjects of both actions are exactly the same, you can use a pesar de followed directly by an infinitive verb. Saying a pesar de llover (despite raining) would be completely natural here.