Question 1

In English, we often say "by scanning" to explain how something was done. Why isn't there a word for "by" here?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, you can use the gerund (the form ending in -ando or -iendo) all by itself to explain the method or how an action was performed. You do not need to add a preposition like por (by) before it. Just saying escaneando completely covers "by scanning" or "through scanning".

Question 2

If I wanted to replace "las etiquetas" with the pronoun "them", where would it go?

Accepted Answer

You would attach the pronoun las directly to the end of the gerund, giving you escaneándolas. Remember that when you add a pronoun to the end of a gerund, you must add an accent mark to the "a" in -ando (or the "e" in -iendo) to keep the natural stress of the word in the right place.

Question 3

Is the verb "escanear" just the English word "scan" made into a Spanish verb?

Accepted Answer

Yes! It is a loanword adapted to fit Spanish pronunciation and spelling rules. Because native Spanish words never start with an "s" followed by another consonant, an "e" is added to the beginning, turning "scan" into the regular -ar verb escanear.

Question 4

Why do we use the preterite "hizo" here instead of the imperfect "hacía"?

Accepted Answer

We use the preterite hizo because "doing the inventory" is being presented as a completed event. He started it, finished it by scanning the labels, and the sentence is reporting that finished action as a whole.

Él hizo el inventario escaneando las etiquetas.

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