Question 1

Why is this translated as 'still not mowing' instead of using todavía no?

Accepted Answer

The structure seguir sin + infinitive is a very natural way in Spanish to express that an expected action is still not happening. While you could say ¿Todavía no podan el césped?, using siguen sin podar emphasizes the continuous nature of the negative state—literally, 'they continue without mowing'.

Question 2

Why is the infinitive podar used here instead of the gerund podando if the English translation uses an '-ing' word?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, whenever a verb immediately follows a preposition like sin, it must be in its infinitive form. Even though the English translation is 'mowing', you can never say sin podando; it must always be sin podar.

Question 3

I thought podar meant 'to prune' or 'to trim'. Does it also mean 'to mow'?

Accepted Answer

Yes! While podar is heavily used for pruning plants or bushes, in many parts of Latin America, the specific phrase podar el césped is commonly used for mowing the lawn. You will also frequently hear cortar el césped or cortar el pasto.

Question 4

Does adding hoy change the grammar of the seguir sin structure?

Accepted Answer

No, it doesn't change the grammar, but it does add a subtle layer of meaning. Asking ¿Siguen sin podar el césped hoy? often implies a bit of frustration or impatience, emphasizing that even after waiting until today, the expected action is still not getting done.

¿Siguen sin podar el césped hoy?

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