Breakdown of El oasis que ves detrás de la duna es un espejismo.
ser
to be
de
from / of
un
a, an (masculine)
ver
to see / to look / appear
que
that / than
detrás
behind
la duna
dune
el oasis
oasis
el espejismo
mirage
Questions & Answers about El oasis que ves detrás de la duna es un espejismo.
Many words ending in -sis are feminine. Why is it el oasis?
Since the oasis turns out to be a fake mirage, why do we use the indicative ves instead of the subjunctive veas?
The mood in a relative clause (the part starting with que) depends on whether the thing being described is something specific that the speaker knows exists. Even though the oasis is an illusion, the fact that you are currently seeing it is a concrete reality to the speaker. If they were looking for a hypothetical oasis that might not exist ('I want to find an oasis that you can see from afar'), they would use the subjunctive veas.
Could I say atrás de la duna instead of detrás de la duna?
Yes, in Latin America, atrás de and detrás de are frequently used interchangeably to mean 'behind'. Strictly speaking, detrás de is the traditional choice when you mention the specific object it is behind (the dune), while atrás is usually used on its own to mean 'in the back' or 'backwards'. However, atrás de la duna sounds completely natural in everyday Latin American Spanish.
Is espejismo (mirage) related to the word for mirror?
Yes! Espejismo comes directly from espejo (mirror). It paints a great logical picture: a mirage is essentially the desert acting like a mirror, reflecting the sky to create the optical illusion of water.
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