Breakdown of Para ser aficionados, los ciclistas son veloces, pero llegan sudorosos.
ser
to be
pero
but
los
the (masculine plural)
llegar
to arrive
para
for
el ciclista
the cyclist
veloz
fast (swift)
el aficionado
the amateur
sudoroso
sweaty
Questions & Answers about Para ser aficionados, los ciclistas son veloces, pero llegan sudorosos.
Why do we use para here instead of por?
The word para is used here to set a standard of comparison or a concession. It translates to 'for' in the sense of 'considering that they are'. Whenever you want to express 'For an [X], they are very [Y]', you use para.
The English translation says 'For being amateurs', so why doesn't the Spanish use the gerund siendo?
In English, we often use the '-ing' form after prepositions, but Spanish grammar requires the infinitive form of the verb after a preposition. Because of this rule, we must use ser right after para.
Why is it spelled veloces with a 'c' instead of a 'z'?
The singular form of this adjective is veloz (fast). In Spanish, whenever a word ends in -z, you must change the z to a c before adding -es to make it plural. This spelling rule gives us veloces.
Why does sudorosos match los ciclistas if it comes after the verb llegan?
Even though it follows an action verb like llegar (to arrive), sudorosos (sweaty) is an adjective describing the physical state of the cyclists as they do the action. Adjectives always have to agree in gender and number with the noun they describe, resulting in the masculine plural sudorosos.
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