Learn Spanish (Latin America): Leo el poema anónimo sin llorar. - I read the anonymous poem without crying.

In this sentence, the person reading the poem and the person not crying are the same person ('I'). When there is no subject change between the two actions, we simply use the preposition sin followed by the infinitive. We only use sin que + the subjunctive when a different person is doing the second action (for example, 'I read the poem without you crying' would be Leo el poema sin que llores).

English uses the '-ing' form ('without crying'). Why isn't it sin llorando?

In English, we use the '-ing' form after prepositions (without crying, before eating, by walking). But in Spanish, you must always use the infinitive after a preposition. That is why it is sin llorar.

Wait, why is it el poema and anónimo if poema ends in '-a'?

Poema is one of several common Spanish words of Greek origin that end in '-ma' but are actually masculine. Other common examples you have probably seen are el problema, el tema, and el sistema. Because it is masculine, it uses el and the adjective must also be masculine (anónimo).

Can Leo also mean 'I am reading' in this context?

Yes! The simple present tense in Spanish (leo) can often translate to either the English simple present ('I read') or the present continuous ('I am reading'), depending on the context.