Breakdown of Su pelaje brillante es hermoso; lo lavo a menudo.
ser
to be
su
his/her/its/their/your (formal)
lavar
to wash
lo
it / him (direct object)
Questions & Answers about Su pelaje brillante es hermoso; lo lavo a menudo.
The lesson is about post-posed possessives. Could we say un pelaje suyo instead of su pelaje here?
You could, but it changes the meaning! Su pelaje means "his coat" (a specific, definite thing). Using the post-posed possessive to say un pelaje suyo means "a coat of his," which makes it sound like the animal owns a whole wardrobe of different coats. We use the short su before the noun when referring to a single, specific item.
Why does lo mean "it" in lo lavo, and not "him"?
The direct object pronoun lo refers back to el pelaje (the coat), which is a masculine noun. Even though lo can mean "him" when referring to a person, here it translates to "it" because it stands in for an object rather than a human.
Why does brillante come after pelaje instead of before it?
In Spanish, descriptive adjectives like brillante (shiny) usually come right after the noun they describe. This tells us a physical fact about the coat. Placing it before the noun would sound overly poetic or dramatic for everyday speech.
I know pelo means "hair." Is pelaje only used for animals?
Yes! While pelo can mean human hair or animal fur, pelaje specifically refers to an animal's coat or pelt. It describes the entire covering of fur as a whole.