ELONIO
Log inSign up

Al intentar abrir la chaqueta, se le rompió el cierre.

Al intentar abrir la chaqueta, se le rompió el cierre.
Upon trying to open the jacket, his zipper broke.
From Lesson 386:Accidental events (se me, se te...)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Al intentar abrir la chaqueta, se le rompió el cierre.

Why do we need both se and le in se le rompió?
This sentence uses the accidental se structure to show that an action was unintentional. Se rompió alone just means it broke. By adding the indirect object pronoun le, we specify who this accident happened to. It acts a bit like saying the zipper broke on him.
In se le rompió, what is the actual subject of the verb?
The subject of the verb is el cierre (the zipper), not the person who was opening the jacket. In this accidental structure, the thing being broken, lost, or forgotten becomes the grammatical subject. Since el cierre is singular, the verb is the third-person singular rompió.
Why does the Spanish use el cierre (the zipper) instead of su cierre (his zipper)?
In Spanish, you generally use definite articles (el, la, etc.) instead of possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) for clothing and body parts when the owner is already obvious. Here, the pronoun le already tells us the accident happened to him, so el cierre sounds much more natural than su cierre.
What is the grammar behind al intentar meaning "upon trying"?
Using al (which is a + el) directly followed by an infinitive verb is a standard Spanish formula for saying "upon doing something" or "when doing something". It is a highly useful structure for linking two events in time without needing to conjugate the first verb.

Learn Al intentar abrir la chaqueta, se le rompió el cierre 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
Start learning Spanish →