Breakdown of El presidente condecoró al investigador por dedicar su vida al estudio.
su
his/her/its/their/your (formal)
a
to
la vida
life
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
el investigador
researcher
el presidente
the president
dedicar
to dedicate
el estudio
the studio
condecorar
to decorate (with a medal)
Questions & Answers about El presidente condecoró al investigador por dedicar su vida al estudio.
Why do we use the infinitive dedicar here instead of a gerund like dedicando to mean "dedicating"?
In English, we say "for dedicating," using the "-ing" form. However, in Spanish, whenever a verb immediately follows a preposition like por, it must be in its infinitive form. Therefore, "for dedicating" translates to por dedicar.
Since he already dedicated his life, could we say por haber dedicado (for having dedicated) instead?
Yes! Using the perfect infinitive (por haber dedicado) would be perfectly correct here. It would emphasize that his years of dedication were a completed action prior to the president decorating him. Using the simple infinitive (por dedicar) is just a bit more concise and treats the dedication as an ongoing, general characteristic of his life.
Why is there an al before investigador? Isn't the researcher the direct object of the verb?
Yes, the researcher is the direct object, which is exactly why the preposition a is needed here. This is the "personal a," which is required in Spanish whenever a specific, identified person is the direct object of a verb. It then contracts with the masculine definite article el to form al (a + el = al).
Why does "to study" translate to al estudio here rather than just using the verb estudiar?
In this specific English sentence, "study" functions as a noun (meaning "the field of study" or "academics"), not a verb. The Spanish noun is estudio. Because Spanish requires definite articles for abstract concepts and general categories, it becomes el estudio. Combined with the preposition a (to), it contracts to al estudio.
Learn El presidente condecoró al investigador por dedicar su vida al estudio and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free