Breakdown of Damos por concluida la cacería para que el halcón descanse.
descansar
to rest
para
for
que
that / than
el halcón
the falcon
dar por
to consider as
concluido
concluded
la cacería
the hunt
Questions & Answers about Damos por concluida la cacería para que el halcón descanse.
What exactly does damos por concluida mean, and how does this structure work?
The phrase dar por followed by a past participle or adjective means to consider something as done or to declare something finished. It emphasizes the result or the official conclusion of an action. Here, it translates to 'we consider [it] concluded' or 'we are calling [it] concluded'.
Why does concluida end in -a here? Aren't past participles usually fixed with an -o ending?
When a past participle is used in perfect tenses (like hemos concluido), it always ends in -o. However, in the dar por structure, the past participle acts like an adjective. This means it must agree in gender and number with the direct object it describes. Since la cacería (the hunt) is feminine singular, the participle becomes concluida.
Can I change the word order and say damos por la cacería concluida?
No, that sounds unnatural in Spanish. The phrase dar por is tightly bound to its adjective or participle. You should keep dar por concluida together, followed by the object (la cacería). You might occasionally hear the object placed before the entire phrase (as in la cacería la damos por concluida), but the dar por + participle block generally stays intact.
Just as a refresher, why do we use the subjunctive descanse here?
The conjunction para que (so that / in order that) is a strict trigger for the subjunctive. It introduces a purpose, goal, or intent that hasn't necessarily been realized yet. Because of this built-in uncertainty, the verb that follows must always be in the subjunctive mood, hence descanse instead of the indicative descansa.
Are cacería and caza interchangeable words for 'hunt'?
They are very close, but have a slight difference in nuance. Caza usually refers to the general concept, activity, or sport of hunting. Cacería tends to refer to a specific hunting expedition or event, which makes perfect sense here as they are wrapping up a specific outing with the falcon.
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