Breakdown of Los monjes mostraron mucha compasión en el hospital.
en
in / on / at
mucho
many / a lot
los
the (masculine plural)
el hospital
the hospital
Questions & Answers about Los monjes mostraron mucha compasión en el hospital.
Mostrar is a stem-changing verb. Why isn't it muestraron?
Why do we use mucha before compasión instead of mucho?
Because compasión is a feminine noun. As a very reliable rule, Spanish nouns ending in -ción and -sión are feminine. Therefore, any adjectives describing them must also be feminine, giving us mucha compasión.
Why use the preterite mostraron instead of the imperfect mostraban?
The preterite mostraron is used here to report a completed event: they showed compassion during a specific instance at the hospital. If the speaker had used the imperfect mostraban, it would describe a background setting ('they were showing compassion') or a recurring habit ('they used to show compassion').
Why is it en el hospital instead of al hospital?