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Los monjes mostraron mucha compasión en el hospital.

Los monjes mostraron mucha compasión en el hospital.
The monks showed a lot of compassion in the hospital.
From Lesson 218:Culminating changes (llegar a ser)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Los monjes mostraron mucha compasión en el hospital.

Mostrar is a stem-changing verb. Why isn't it muestraron?
Mostrar does have an o-to-ue stem change in the present tense (like ellos muestran). However, -ar and -er verbs never change their stems in the preterite (simple past) tense. Because of this rule, it stays regular here: ellos mostraron.
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?
The preposition en is used to show location, meaning 'in' or 'at' the hospital. You would use a (which combines with el to form al) if there was movement toward a destination, like in fueron al hospital (they went to the hospital). Since the monks were already located there, en is correct.

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