Breakdown of La ganancia parece como si fuera un tercio del costo.
ser
to be
un
a, an (masculine)
como
as / like (such as, similar to)
parecer
to seem
si
if
el costo
the cost
el tercio
the third (fraction)
la ganancia
the profit
Questions & Answers about La ganancia parece como si fuera un tercio del costo.
How do fractions like un tercio work when describing a noun?
Why is the verb fuera in the past subjunctive here?
The phrase como si means "as if". In Spanish, como si is always followed by the past subjunctive (also called the imperfect subjunctive) because it introduces a hypothetical or unreal situation. Even though the sentence is talking about how things look right now, you must use fuera (it were) rather than the present tense es (it is).
Could I just say La ganancia parece un tercio del costo instead of using como si fuera?
Yes! Just like in English ("The profit looks like a third of the cost"), that is a completely natural and slightly more direct way to say it. Adding como si fuera (as if it were) just emphasizes that you are making a hypothetical comparison.
I've sometimes seen "the cost" translated as el coste. Why is it el costo here?
Both words are correct and mean "the cost", but el costo is the standard term used across Latin America. If you consume media from Spain or travel there, you will frequently hear el coste used instead.
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