Breakdown of El hombre habrá roto el cuello y el dobladillo de su camisa.
de
from / of
y
and
la camisa
shirt
su
his/her/its/their/your (formal)
el hombre
the man
romper
to break
haber
(auxiliary) have
el cuello
collar
el dobladillo
hem
Questions & Answers about El hombre habrá roto el cuello y el dobladillo de su camisa.
Why is the future tense habrá used here if the translation says 'must have torn' in the past?
This sentence uses the future perfect, combining the future tense of haber with a past participle (roto). While it can mean 'will have torn', at this level you will often see it used to express a conjecture, guess, or probability about a recent past event. It translates naturally to 'must have' or 'probably' in English.
I learned that romper means 'to break'. Why is roto translated as 'torn' here?
You are correct that romper means 'to break', but in Spanish, it is also the most common verb used for tearing, ripping, or putting a hole in fabric, paper, or clothing. While you could use a specific word like rasgar (to tear), romper is perfectly natural here. Also, remember that roto is its irregular past participle.
Does cuello always mean 'collar'? I learned it as 'neck'.
Cuello literally means 'neck' when referring to body parts, but it is also the standard word for the collar of a shirt, jacket, or sweater. The context of the shirt (camisa) and hem (dobladillo) makes the clothing meaning obvious here.
Why does it say el cuello instead of su cuello?
If you said habrá roto su cuello, a native speaker would immediately think the man broke his actual physical neck! By using the definite article el for the parts of the clothing, and placing the possessive at the end (de su camisa), the sentence avoids this gruesome misunderstanding.
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