La tienda usa la balanza provista por el tostador.

Questions & Answers about La tienda usa la balanza provista por el tostador.

Wait, isn't the past participle of proveer actually proveído?
Proveer (to provide) is one of those verbs with two accepted past participles: the regular proveído and the irregular provisto. While both are technically valid, the irregular provisto is much more common in Latin America, especially when used as an adjective like in this sentence.
Why does provista end in -a here?
Because it is functioning as an adjective modifying la balanza, which is a feminine singular noun. If it were used as the main verb in a perfect tense, such as El tostador ha provisto la balanza (The roaster has provided the scale), it would lock into the -o ending and would not change to match the noun.
I always confuse proveer and prever. How can I remember which participle is which?
It is definitely a common mix-up! Proveer means to provide, and its irregular participle is provisto. Prever means to foresee or anticipate, and its participle is previsto. You can remember that prever is based on ver (to see), so its participle looks like visto (seen).
Could I use 'que' to say this instead of just dropping the participle in?
Yes! You could say la balanza que fue provista por el tostador (the scale that was provided by the roaster) or la balanza que proveyó el tostador (the scale that the roaster provided). Using just the participle provista is a slightly more concise, elegant way to express this, and it maps perfectly to how we say it in English.

Learn La tienda usa la balanza provista por el tostador 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