Question 1

Is encuadernación related to the word cuaderno (notebook)?

Accepted Answer

Yes! It essentially means the process of turning pages into a cuaderno (notebook or bound book). The prefix en- (into) and the suffix -ción (action/effect) surround the root to mean 'the action of making into a book,' which gives us 'binding.'

Question 2

I've seen lomo on restaurant menus. How does it mean 'spine' here?

Accepted Answer

Lomo generally refers to the back of an animal, which is why it translates to 'loin' on meat menus. By visual extension, it is also used for the 'back' of a book, which we call the 'spine' in English. Note that a human's anatomical spine is the columna vertebral, not the lomo.

Question 3

Why does protege use a g instead of a j for that breathy 'H' sound?

Accepted Answer

The infinitive is proteger. In Spanish, the letter g naturally makes that breathy 'H' sound when it comes right before an e or an i. You only need to switch to a j to maintain that sound if the following vowel is a, o, or u (for example, in the 'yo' form: protejo).

Question 4

Tying into this lesson, if the subject was 'La mayoría de las encuadernaciones' (The majority of the bindings), would the verb be singular or plural?

Accepted Answer

This is a classic case of collective agreement (concordancia ad sensum). With a singular collective quantifier plus a plural noun (La mayoría de las encuadernaciones), you can technically use either the singular protege or the plural protegen. However, Latin American speakers overwhelmingly prefer the plural verb (protegen) in everyday speech because it agrees logically with the plural noun closest to it.

La encuadernación protege el lomo del libro.

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