Al fin y al cabo, la moral justifica nuestra existencia.
After all, morality justifies our existence.
Breakdown of Al fin y al cabo, la moral justifica nuestra existencia.
nuestro
our
la
the (feminine)
justificar
to justify
la existencia
the existence
Questions & Answers about Al fin y al cabo, la moral justifica nuestra existencia.
How does al fin y al cabo work in this sentence, and is it interchangeable with después de todo?
Al fin y al cabo literally translates to "at the end and at the end," but it functions as a conclusive discourse marker meaning "after all" or "at the end of the day." You use it to introduce an ultimate justification or final truth that settles an argument. You could also use después de todo here, but al fin y al cabo sounds very natural and conversational when wrapping up a philosophical thought like this one.
Why is there a la before moral when the English translation is just "morality"?
In Spanish, when you talk about an abstract concept in a general, all-encompassing way, you must use the definite article. Because morality as a whole is the subject of the sentence, it requires the la. English drops the "the" for abstract nouns, but Spanish requires it.
Wait, doesn't moral translate to "morale" instead of "morality"?
Why is nuestra placed before the noun instead of after it?