Breakdown of Cuando la hormiga te pique, te va a doler.
ir
to go
a
to
te
to you / you (direct object)
doler
to hurt / to ache
la
the (feminine)
cuando
when (statement)
la hormiga
the ant
picar
to sting
Questions & Answers about Cuando la hormiga te pique, te va a doler.
Why do we use the subjunctive pique here instead of the indicative pica?
Because the sentence is talking about a future event that hasn't happened yet. In Spanish, when you use time words like cuando to talk about an anticipated future action, you must use the subjunctive. If you were talking about a regular habit (Whenever the ant bites...), you would use the indicative pica.
Where does the "qu" in pique come from if the verb is picar?
It is a spelling change to keep the pronunciation the same. The verb is picar, which has a hard "k" sound. If we just added the subjunctive "e" ending to make "pice," it would be pronounced with a soft "s" sound. Changing the "c" to "qu" makes sure pique keeps that hard "k" sound.
Does the verb picar only mean "to bite"?
It means "to bite" or "to sting" when talking about insects, but it is a very flexible verb! It can also mean "to chop" (like food), "to itch" (like a rash), or "to be spicy" (like a hot salsa).
Why do we need the pronoun te twice in this sentence?
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