Question 1

Why does the sentence use el pico negro instead of un pico negro for "a black beak"?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, when describing body parts—even animal body parts—it is standard to use the definite article (el, la, los, las) rather than the indefinite article (un, una) after the verb tener. Since a swan naturally has one beak, tiene el pico negro sounds much more natural than translating "a black beak" word-for-word.

Question 2

What does the pronoun lo refer to in hoy lo vi?

Accepted Answer

The direct object pronoun lo translates to "it" here, and it refers back to el cisne (the swan). Because cisne is a masculine noun, it takes the masculine pronoun lo. If you were talking about a feminine noun, like la paloma (the dove), you would say la vi.

Question 3

Why doesn't the past tense verb vi have an accent mark?

Accepted Answer

vi is the yo (I) form of the verb ver (to see) in the preterite tense. While most regular verbs in the past tense have an accent on the final vowel for the yo form (like comí or viví), ver is irregular. Because vi is only one syllable long, it doesn't need a written accent mark.

Question 4

How do I know if nouns that end in -e, like cisne, are masculine or feminine?

Accepted Answer

Nouns ending in -e can be masculine or feminine, so you generally just have to memorize the article along with the word. However, as a helpful pattern, several common animals ending in -e happen to be masculine, such as el cisne (the swan), el tigre (the tiger), and el elefante (the elephant).

El cisne tiene el pico negro, y hoy lo vi.

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