Question 1

Why does it say del instead of de after a través?

Accepted Answer

The phrase for "through" is a través de. Because the next word is the masculine singular noun pasadizo (passage), it requires the article el. Whenever the preposition de and the article el are next to each other, they must combine into the contraction del.

Question 2

Could I use por instead of a través de to mean "through" here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you could say Caminamos por el pasadizo. Both can mean "through." However, a través de emphasizes the physical crossing or penetrating from one end to the other. Por is more general and can just mean moving "around" or "along" a space.

Question 3

Caminamos can mean "we walk" (present) or "we walked" (past). How do we know which one it is here?

Accepted Answer

You are right that for regular -ar verbs, the "we" form is exactly the same in both the present and the past (preterite) tense: caminamos. Without more context, it could be either! The English translation provided uses the past tense, but "We walk through the dark passage" is also completely valid here.

Question 4

What is the difference between pasadizo and pasillo?

Accepted Answer

Both translate to "passage" or "hallway." A pasillo is a standard hallway you would find in a house or office. A pasadizo is usually a narrow passage, alley, or sometimes a secret tunnel. Since it is described as oscuro (dark), pasadizo gives the sentence a slightly more confined or mysterious feel.

Caminamos a través del pasadizo oscuro.

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