Learn Spanish (Latin America): Cuando la oruga descansa, teje un capullo. - When the caterpillar rests, it weaves a cocoon.

Cuando la oruga descansa, teje un capullo.

When the caterpillar rests, it weaves a cocoon.

Breakdown of Cuando la oruga descansa, teje un capullo.

Questions & Answers about Cuando la oruga descansa, teje un capullo.

Why is descansa in the indicative mood here instead of the subjunctive?

In time clauses starting with cuando (when), we use the indicative mood for habitual actions or general facts. Because this sentence describes what a caterpillar generally does whenever it rests, descansa is in the indicative. We only use the subjunctive after cuando for actions that haven't happened yet in the future.

How would the sentence change if we were waiting for a specific caterpillar to rest and weave its cocoon later today?

If we were talking about a specific future event rather than a general fact, we would need to use the subjunctive for the first verb. It would become: Cuando la oruga descanse, tejerá un capullo (When the caterpillar rests, it will weave a cocoon).

Why isn't there a word for "it" before teje?

Spanish almost never uses a subject pronoun for "it." Since la oruga was already established as the subject in the first half of the sentence, we just use the third-person verb teje on its own. The listener automatically knows the caterpillar is still the one doing the action.

Is tejer only used for insects making cocoons?

No, tejer is the standard Spanish verb for to knit or to weave. You can use it for people knitting clothing like a sweater, or for spiders spinning webs (tejer una telaraña).