Question 1

What exactly does ello refer to in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

The neuter pronoun ello refers to an abstract idea or a whole proposition, rather than a specific masculine or feminine noun. In this sentence, it refers to the entire preceding fact: that you did not use the periscope.

Question 2

Could I just use por eso instead of por ello here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, por eso is extremely common and means the exact same thing (because of that or for that reason). Using por ello sounds slightly more formal and is very common in written Spanish, but both use a neuter pronoun to refer back to the previous statement.

Question 3

Why is the preposition por used before ello instead of para?

Accepted Answer

You use por here because it indicates the cause or reason for an action. The phrase por ello translates to 'because of that fact', explaining the reason why the coordinate was lost.

Question 4

How do we know usamos is in the past tense if it is spelled exactly like the present tense?

Accepted Answer

For regular -ar verbs, the nosotros form is identical in the present and preterite (simple past) tenses. The time marker ayer (yesterday) gives away that it is past tense. This is also confirmed by perdimos, which is strictly the past tense of perder (the present form is perdemos).

Ayer no usamos el periscopio y por ello perdimos la coordenada.

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