Learn Spanish (Latin America): Desenterramos una cadena de oro.

Desenterramos una cadena de oro.

We unearthed a gold chain.

Breakdown of Desenterramos una cadena de oro.

Questions & Answers about Desenterramos una cadena de oro.

How would we change this sentence to emphasize that we did unearth a gold chain, using the grammar from this lesson?

You would place sí que immediately before the conjugated verb: Sí que desenterramos una cadena de oro. This adds a strong emphatic affirmation, similar to saying "We really did unearth a gold chain!"—perfect for countering someone's expectation that you were just digging in the dirt for nothing.

Is "desenterramos" in the present or past tense here?

It can actually be both! For regular -ar verbs (and -ir verbs), the nosotros form is exactly the same in the present tense and the preterite (simple past) tense. You have to rely on context to know if it means "we unearth" or "we unearthed".

Since this comes from the root "tierra" (earth), shouldn't there be an "i" in "desenterramos"?

The verb desenterrar does have an e to ie stem change in the present tense (for example, yo desentierro, tú desentierras). However, in the present tense, the nosotros and vosotros forms never undergo this stem change, which is why it remains desenterramos. In the preterite tense, -ar verbs never stem-change at all.

I can see the root words in "desenterramos". How exactly is this verb constructed?