Breakdown of Ella usa un ratón adecuado de manera que no le duela la mano.
de
from / of
ella
she
no
no, not
un
a, an (masculine)
la mano
the hand
usar
to use / to wear
que
that / than
le
to him / to her / to you (formal)
doler
to hurt / to ache
la manera
the way / the manner
el ratón
mouse
adecuado
proper
Questions & Answers about Ella usa un ratón adecuado de manera que no le duela la mano.
Why is duela in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative (duele)?
The connector de manera que takes the subjunctive when it expresses a purpose or intended outcome ("so that"). She's using the mouse with the intention that her hand won't hurt. If you used the indicative (duele), it would instead express a factual consequence that is already happening: "She uses a proper mouse, with the result that her hand doesn't hurt."
Could I use de modo que instead of de manera que in this sentence?
Yes! Both phrases mean "so that" or "in such a way that" and they follow the exact same rules for triggering the indicative or subjunctive. You could easily say Ella usa un ratón adecuado de modo que no le duela la mano without changing the meaning.
Why does the sentence say le duela la mano instead of translating "her hand" as su mano?
In Spanish, we generally use definite articles (like la) instead of possessive adjectives (like su) when talking about body parts. To clarify whose body part is hurting, Spanish uses an indirect object pronoun. Here, le means "to her", so the phrase literally translates to "the hand does not hurt to her".
What is the infinitive of duela, and why is there a "ue" in it?
Wait, why is it la mano? Doesn't a word ending in "-o" usually take a masculine article?
Mano is one of the most famous exceptions to the gender rules in Spanish. Even though it ends in "-o", it is a feminine noun, which is why it requires the feminine article la.
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