Breakdown of La descompresión es lenta, pero el buzo se acostumbra a ello.
ser
to be
pero
but
lento
slow
acostumbrarse a
to get used to
ello
it (abstract reference)
el buzo
diver
la descompresión
decompression
Questions & Answers about La descompresión es lenta, pero el buzo se acostumbra a ello.
Why does the sentence use ello instead of ella, since descompresión is feminine?
ello is a neuter pronoun used to refer to an abstract idea, a situation, or a whole previous statement rather than a specific noun. Here, the diver isn't just getting used to the decompression itself (ella), but rather to the entire situation described in the first half of the sentence: the fact that it is slow.
Could I use eso instead of ello here?
Yes, and in everyday spoken Latin American Spanish, you will almost always hear a eso instead. ello is perfectly correct but sounds a bit more formal or written. It is mostly used after prepositions (like a, por, or en) to summarize and refer back to a previously mentioned concept.
Why do we need the preposition a before ello?
The verb acostumbrarse (to get used to) always requires the preposition a to connect it to the thing you are getting used to. Because ello acts as the object of that preposition, the a is mandatory here.
Why is it se acostumbra instead of just acostumbra?
Using the pronominal form acostumbrarse means to get used to or to accustom oneself to something. Without the se, acostumbrar usually means to normally do something (followed by an infinitive) or to accustom someone else to a habit.
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