Breakdown of El camello sediento no descansó desde el lunes hasta hoy.
no
no, not
descansar
to rest
hoy
today
el lunes
Monday
hasta
until / as far as
desde
since / from (a starting point)
el camello
camel
sediento
thirsty
Questions & Answers about El camello sediento no descansó desde el lunes hasta hoy.
Why does this sentence use the preterite descansó instead of the present perfect, even though the timeframe goes up to hoy (today)?
In Latin American Spanish, it is very common to use the preterite (like descansó) for actions that happened in a time frame that includes the present (like hoy or esta semana). In Spain, you would almost always hear the present perfect (no ha descansado) here. Because the period of not resting is viewed as a completed, closed block of time leading up to this moment, the preterite works perfectly in Latin America.
Could I say de lunes a hoy instead of desde el lunes hasta hoy?
Yes, de... a... and desde... hasta... are often interchangeable when talking about time spans. However, desde... hasta... places a bit more emphasis on the exact starting and ending points, which highlights the camel's long, exhausting stretch of not resting. Notice that when using desde, we need the article el before lunes.
Why is it el camello sediento and not el camello con sed?
Both are grammatically correct! Using tener sed (to be thirsty) or con sed (with thirst) is the most common way to express being thirsty in everyday spoken Spanish. However, sediento is a specific adjective meaning "thirsty." It sounds slightly more descriptive or literary, making it a great fit for a sentence painting a vivid picture of this poor camel.
Why do we need el before lunes in this sentence?
In Spanish, days of the week require the definite article (el or los) when you are talking about things happening on that day or, in this case, starting from that day (desde el lunes). You usually only drop the article when the day immediately follows the verb ser, such as in Hoy es lunes (Today is Monday).
Learn El camello sediento no descansó desde el lunes hasta hoy 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