Breakdown of El voluntario alimentará a los lobos heridos cuando la jaula esté limpia.
los
the (masculine plural)
estar
to be (location/state)
limpio
clean
la
the (feminine)
Questions & Answers about El voluntario alimentará a los lobos heridos cuando la jaula esté limpia.
Why is it esté (subjunctive) instead of está (indicative) after cuando?
Because the action hasn't happened yet. When time words like cuando, en cuanto, or hasta que are used to refer to a future event, Spanish requires the subjunctive to show that the outcome is still pending. If this were a routine (e.g., "he always feeds them when it is clean"), you would use the indicative está.
Why is there an a before los lobos heridos?
This is the "personal a". While it is required for specific people, it is also frequently used with specific, identifiable animals, especially when they are the focus of care, emotion, or attention—like these injured wolves being cared for by a volunteer.
Why use estar (esté) instead of ser (sea) for "is clean"?
How is the future tense formed in alimentará?