Breakdown of El león asusta a las cebras cuando lo oyen rugir.
las
the (feminine plural)
lo
it / him (direct object)
cuando
when (statement)
asustar
to scare
oír
to hear
el león
the lion
rugir
to roar
la cebra
the zebra
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
Questions & Answers about El león asusta a las cebras cuando lo oyen rugir.
Why is it rugir (to roar) instead of rugiendo (roaring)?
When using verbs of physical perception like oír (to hear) or ver (to see), Spanish typically uses the infinitive (rugir) to express perceiving the action. Even though English often uses an '-ing' word ('hear him roaring'), the infinitive is the most natural choice in Spanish. You could use rugiendo to emphasize that the roar was ongoing when they heard it, but rugir is standard.
Can I attach the pronoun lo to the end of the infinitive, like oyen rugirlo?
No, in this case lo must go before oyen. The pronoun represents the lion, which is the direct object of the verb oyen (they hear him). Because lo belongs to the conjugated verb oyen, it goes directly before it. If you said rugirlo, it would mean 'to roar him,' which doesn't make sense!
I thought the personal a was only for people. Why is it used here in a las cebras?
While the personal a is mainly for people, it is also frequently used with specific animals. In sentences where an animal acts upon another animal, Spanish speakers often use the a to clearly mark which one is the direct object receiving the action. This helps avoid confusion about who is scaring whom.
Why is it lo oyen and not le oyen?
Because the lion is the direct object of the verb oír (they hear him), we use the direct object pronoun lo. While you might occasionally hear le used for male animals or people in some parts of Spain, lo is the standard and correct choice in Latin American Spanish.
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