Learn Spanish (Latin America): Remamos a través de la cueva sin los cascos. - We rowed through the cave without the helmets.

Remamos a través de la cueva sin los cascos.

We rowed through the cave without the helmets.

Breakdown of Remamos a través de la cueva sin los cascos.

los

the (masculine plural)

Questions & Answers about Remamos a través de la cueva sin los cascos.

How is a través de different from just using por to mean 'through'?

While por la cueva would also translate to 'through the cave,' using a través de makes the physical journey from one end to the other much more explicit. It emphasizes penetrating or crossing directly through the interior of the space.

Do I always have to include de after a través?

Yes, whenever you mention the specific place you are passing through, like la cueva in this sentence, you must use de to connect them. Think of the whole phrase as a single unbreakable unit: a través de.

Remamos usually means 'we row' in the present tense. Why is it translated as 'we rowed' in the past tense here?

For regular verbs ending in -ar and -ir, the nosotros (we) form is exactly the same in both the present tense and the preterite (completed past) tense. You always have to rely on the surrounding context to know if a word like remamos means 'we row' or 'we rowed'.

Could I just say sin cascos instead of sin los cascos?

Yes, but it changes the meaning slightly. Saying sin los cascos (without the helmets) implies there were specific helmets they already owned or were supposed to wear. Saying sin cascos without the article would just mean they went in without any helmets in general.