Breakdown of Me retuvieron la credencial por romper la portada.
me
to me / me (direct object)
romper
to break
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
retener
to confiscate / to retain
la credencial
the ID / the library card
la portada
the cover
Questions & Answers about Me retuvieron la credencial por romper la portada.
Why does the sentence use por romper (an infinitive) instead of a conjugated verb like porque rompí?
In Spanish, you can use por followed by an infinitive to express the cause or reason for an action. It translates nicely to "for tearing" or "because of tearing" in English. It is a very natural and concise way to explain why something happened without needing a full clause like porque rompí (because I tore).
Who tore the cover? Since romper isn't conjugated, how do we know who did it?
Context! When using por + infinitive, the person doing the action is usually either the main subject of the sentence (they) or the indirect object (me). Since they are confiscating the card from you (me), the listener naturally understands that you are the one who tore the cover.
If they confiscated my ID, why does it say la credencial (the ID) instead of mi credencial?
Spanish often avoids possessive adjectives like mi (my) when the owner is already obvious. Here, the indirect object pronoun me (to me) at the start of the sentence already shows that the action happened to you and your ID. Saying Me retuvieron mi credencial would sound a bit repetitive.
What verb is retuvieron from, and why does it look irregular?
Learn Me retuvieron la credencial por romper la portada and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free