Breakdown of Una persona altruista comparte todo cuanto tiene con el prójimo.
tener
to have
una
a, an (feminine)
compartir
to share
con
with
la persona
person
todo
all / everything
altruista
altruistic
cuanto
all that / as much as (relative) / the more/less (in proportional comparisons)
el prójimo
fellow human being
Questions & Answers about Una persona altruista comparte todo cuanto tiene con el prójimo.
Why do we use the indicative tiene instead of the subjunctive after todo cuanto?
We use the indicative here because the sentence describes an established fact or reality. An altruistic person shares what they actually possess. If you were talking about a hypothetical or future situation, like saying you will share everything you might have in the future, you would use the subjunctive: Compartiré todo cuanto tenga.
Can I use todo lo que instead of todo cuanto?
Why is el prójimo singular in Spanish but translated as the plural "fellow human beings"?
El prójimo functions as a collective noun in Spanish. It translates literally to "the neighbor" (in the moral or biblical sense), but it refers to "others" or "fellow human beings" as a collective whole. You will almost always use it in the singular form.
If I want to describe a specific man, would I change the adjective to altruisto?
No, it stays altruista. Adjectives that end in -ista (such as altruista, optimista, or egoísta) are invariable, meaning they keep the -a ending for both masculine and feminine nouns.
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