Breakdown of Tienes que derretir el oro antes de ponerlo en el molde.
de
from / of
tener
to have
en
in / on / at
poner
to put
que
that / than
lo
it / him (direct object)
el oro
gold
antes
before / earlier
derretir
to melt
el molde
mold
Questions & Answers about Tienes que derretir el oro antes de ponerlo en el molde.
This sentence doesn't use the grammar from this lesson (no sea que or no vaya a ser que). How could I add "in case it cools down" using those phrases?
You could add it to the end: Tienes que derretir el oro antes de ponerlo en el molde, no sea que se enfríe. Both no sea que and no vaya a ser que express a negative purpose or precaution ("lest" or "so it doesn't"), and they always trigger the subjunctive mood—in this case, se enfríe (from the reflexive verb enfriarse).
Why does the sentence use the infinitive ponerlo instead of the subjunctive que lo pongas?
Because the person doing both actions is the same. When there is no change of subject (you are the one melting it, and you are the one putting it in the mold), Spanish uses antes de + infinitive. You only use antes de que + subjunctive when the subjects are different, such as: Tengo que derretirlo antes de que lo pongas en el molde (I have to melt it before you put it in the mold).
Could the pronoun lo in ponerlo be moved earlier in the sentence?
No, it must stay attached to the end of poner here. While you can move pronouns before a conjugated verb in the first half of the sentence (Lo tienes que derretir is just as valid as Tienes que derretirlo), the second clause is governed by the preposition de. Because there is no conjugated verb directly connected to poner in that phrase, the pronoun has nowhere else to go and must attach to the infinitive.
How do I handle the pronunciation of the different "r" sounds in derretir el oro?
This phrase is a great pronunciation workout because it contrasts the two Spanish "r" sounds. The rr in derretir is a strongly trilled or rolled "r". However, the single "r" at the end of derretir and the single "r" in oro are soft alveolar flaps—they sound very similar to the quick "dd" sound in the American English word "ladder".
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