Breakdown of El ruido de las palomitas distrae a la gente y arruina la película.
de
from / of
y
and
la película
movie
el ruido
the noise
la gente
the people
arruinar
to ruin
las palomitas
the popcorn
distraer
to distract
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
Questions & Answers about El ruido de las palomitas distrae a la gente y arruina la película.
Why do we need the word "a" before "la gente" in this sentence?
This is the "personal a". In Spanish, when the direct object of a verb is a person or a specific group of people, you must put the word a right before it. Even though la gente is a collective noun, it refers to humans, so it requires the personal a after the verb distrae.
Since "la gente" means "people" (plural), why does the sentence use the singular verbs "distrae" and "arruina"?
Is "palomitas" the only way to say popcorn in Latin America?
Palomitas (literally "little doves") is the most widely understood term and is standard in Mexico and Latin American movie dubs. However, popcorn has many regional names! Depending on the country, you might hear pochoclo (Argentina), cabritas (Chile), cotufas (Venezuela), or pororó (Uruguay and parts of Argentina).
The current lesson is about using "dejar de" to mean "to stop doing something." How could I use that grammar to describe this situation?
While this specific sentence doesn't use it, you could use dejar de to say that the noise makes people stop paying attention. For example: El ruido hace que la gente deje de prestar atención a la película. In that sentence, dejar de is followed directly by the infinitive verb prestar to show that the ongoing action of paying attention is being interrupted.
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