Word
La pluma no tiene tinta, y no hay de dónde sacar un cartucho.
Meaning
The pen has no ink, and there is nowhere to get a cartridge from.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of La pluma no tiene tinta, y no hay de dónde sacar un cartucho.
de
from / of
y
and
no
no, not
tener
to have
Questions & Answers about La pluma no tiene tinta, y no hay de dónde sacar un cartucho.
Why does dónde have an accent mark here if the sentence isn't a question?
In negative existential structures like no hay, we use the interrogative form (with the accent) when it is followed by an infinitive. It acts as an indirect question. You can think of the literal translation as "there is no place from where to get a cartridge."
Why do we need the preposition de before dónde?
The verb sacar (to take out or to get) requires the preposition de to show where you are getting something from. Unlike English, which often leaves the preposition at the very end of the sentence ("nowhere to get a cartridge from"), Spanish always places it immediately before the interrogative or relative word.
Could I use the subjunctive here instead of the infinitive sacar?
You could, but only if you want to specify a particular subject. We use the infinitive sacar here because the action is general or impersonal (there is nowhere for anyone to get a cartridge). If you wanted to say "there is nowhere for you to get a cartridge," you would introduce a new subject and use the subjunctive: no hay de dónde saques un cartucho.
Why isn't there an article before tinta, like la tinta?