Breakdown of A lo mejor perdiste el dinero por el agujero del bolsillo.
el dinero
money
del
from the / of the
el bolsillo
pocket
perder
to lose
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
a lo mejor
maybe
el agujero
hole
Questions & Answers about A lo mejor perdiste el dinero por el agujero del bolsillo.
Does a lo mejor literally mean "at the best"? How does that translate to "maybe"?
Literally, yes, it translates to "at the best." However, in everyday Spanish, a lo mejor is a very common set phrase that simply means "maybe" or "probably." You will hear it used constantly in spoken Spanish to express a guess or a possibility.
Why is perdiste in the indicative mood? Doesn't expressing doubt with "maybe" usually require the subjunctive?
While expressions of doubt like tal vez and quizás often trigger the subjunctive mood, a lo mejor is a special exception. It is almost always followed by the normal indicative mood. That is why we use the standard past tense perdiste here instead of a subjunctive form.
Why do we use por here instead of another word for "through"?
The English translation says "the hole in the pocket", but the Spanish says del bolsillo (of the pocket). Why not use en?
In Spanish, it is very common to express this kind of relationship as belonging rather than just physical location. You are essentially saying "the pocket's hole," which is why you use the contraction of de + el (del). While en el bolsillo is perfectly understandable, del bolsillo sounds much more natural to a native speaker.
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