Breakdown of Fue mi grapadora la que desapareció ayer.
ser
to be
mi
my
que
that / than
la
the (feminine)
ayer
yesterday
desaparecer
to disappear
la grapadora
the stapler
Questions & Answers about Fue mi grapadora la que desapareció ayer.
Why do we use la que instead of just que after the noun?
In this type of cleft sentence, we are singling out a specific item. Using la que (which matches the feminine singular grapadora) translates more closely to "the one that". While you can sometimes use just que in cleft sentences, using el que / la que / los que / las que adds stronger emphasis and is very natural when identifying the specific subject that performed the action.
Why are both fue and desapareció in the preterite tense?
In cleft sentences, the tense of the verb ser (here, fue) generally matches the tense of the main verb (desapareció). Because the stapler disappeared at a specific, completed time in the past (ayer), the preterite is used for both. If you were talking about a present habit ("It is my stapler that always disappears"), you would use the present tense for both: Es mi grapadora la que desaparece siempre.
Could I change the word order to put the emphasized part at the end?
Wait, isn't "desaparecer" a reflexive verb? Why isn't it se desapareció?
Desaparecer is standardly a non-reflexive verb. You simply conjugate it as desapareció (it disappeared). In some parts of Latin America, you might hear people say se desapareció in casual speech to emphasize a sudden or sneaky disappearance (like a person ghosting you or going off the grid), but the standard, non-reflexive form used here is always correct.
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