Breakdown of Por lo de la infección, él suele lamer la pata y cojear.
él
he
de
from / of
y
and
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
lo
the ... thing (neuter article)
soler
to usually do / to tend to
cojear
to limp
la pata
paw
la infección
infection
lamer
to lick
Questions & Answers about Por lo de la infección, él suele lamer la pata y cojear.
Why use lo de la infección instead of just saying por la infección?
The phrase lo de is a neuter article construction that roughly means the matter of or the thing about. While por la infección simply means because of the infection, using lo de la infección refers to the broader situation surrounding the infection, like the ongoing medical issue or a previously discussed event.
What exactly does suele mean here, and can I use it in any tense?
The verb soler is used before an infinitive to indicate that an action is habitual, translating to usually does or tends to do. It is a defective verb, meaning you will almost exclusively see it in the present tense, like suele here, or the imperfect tense, like solía, but never in the preterite or future tenses.
Why does this sentence use la pata instead of su pata to mean his paw?
In Spanish, it is standard to use definite articles like la for body parts rather than possessive adjectives like su. Because the context makes it obvious whose paw is being licked, using su pata would sound unnatural to a native speaker.
Why do we use por at the beginning of the sentence instead of para?
The preposition por is used here because it indicates the cause or reason for an action, translating to because of or due to. If you used para, it would incorrectly imply that he is limping in order to achieve the infection.
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