Question 1

Why is cuidamos in the indicative here instead of the subjunctive?

Accepted Answer

With phrases like por más que, you use the indicative when stating an established fact that actually happened. Because the speakers really did take care of the orchard in the past, cuidamos (the indicative) is used. If it were a hypothetical or unconfirmed action, like 'No matter how much we might take care of it', you would use the subjunctive.

Question 2

Is cuidamos in the present or past tense here?

Accepted Answer

It is in the past tense (preterite). The form cuidamos is exactly the same for both the present and the preterite in the nosotros form of regular -ar verbs. We know it is the past tense here because the main clause uses fue (was), placing the context of the whole sentence in the past.

Question 3

What is the difference between un huerto and una huerta?

Accepted Answer

Both refer to places where crops are grown, but un huerto is usually a smaller, often private vegetable garden or small orchard. Una huerta tends to refer to a much larger, commercial farming area or expansive irrigated land.

Question 4

Why does pérdida have an accent mark?

Accepted Answer

The accent mark shows that the spoken stress falls on the third-to-last syllable, making it the noun that means 'loss'. Without the accent mark, perdida would be the feminine adjective or past participle meaning 'lost', which has the spoken stress on the second-to-last syllable (per-DI-da).

Por más que cuidamos el huerto, la pérdida fue enorme.

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