Breakdown of Al terminar la ronda, el presentador no descalificó al participante, sino al equipo.
no
no, not
terminar
to finish / to end
el equipo
the team
sino
but (rather)
al
personal 'a' + the (marks a human direct object)
el presentador
the anchor
la ronda
round
descalificar
to disqualify
el participante
participant
Questions & Answers about Al terminar la ronda, el presentador no descalificó al participante, sino al equipo.
Why do we use sino here instead of pero for 'but'?
We use sino (meaning 'but rather' or 'but instead') because we are setting up a direct corrective contrast. The first part of the sentence must be negative (no descalificó al participante), and the second part directly replaces or corrects the denied information with new information (al equipo). If you were just adding contrasting information without replacing the first part, you would use pero.
Why is there an al before equipo at the end?
This is the personal 'a' combining with el. When using sino to correct a direct object, you must repeat the preposition used in the first half of the sentence to keep the grammar parallel. Since the host didn't disqualify al participante, he actually disqualified al equipo.
Could I say Cuando terminó la ronda instead of Al terminar la ronda?
Yes, they mean the same thing. However, the structure al + infinitive (al terminar) is a very common and slightly more elegant way to say 'upon finishing' or 'when an action happens'. It is heavily used in both spoken and written Spanish to link two events closely in time without needing to conjugate the first verb.
Does presentador always mean a TV or game show host?
It generally refers to a host, presenter, or anchor of a television or radio program. In the context of a game show (which we can guess from ronda and participante), presentador is the exact word used for the host. If you meant a party or house host, you would use anfitrión instead.
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