Breakdown of El águila sigue sin regresar, así que la damos por perdida.
regresar
to return
perder
to lose
la
it / her (direct object)
seguir
to continue
sin
without
así que
so (consequence)
dar por
to consider as
el águila
the eagle
Questions & Answers about El águila sigue sin regresar, así que la damos por perdida.
How does the phrase damos por perdida work in this sentence?
The structure dar por followed by a past participle or adjective is used to say you consider or assume something has reached a certain state. Here, it means "we consider it lost." Because the past participle perdida acts as an adjective describing the direct object la, it must match it in gender and number (feminine singular).
Why do we use the feminine pronoun la and the feminine participle perdida if it is el águila?
The word águila is actually feminine! When a feminine noun begins with a stressed "a" sound, Spanish uses the masculine article el in the singular just to avoid the awkward double-A sound of "la águila." However, the word is still fully feminine, so all pronouns and adjectives referring to it must be feminine, hence la and perdida.
Is seguir sin + infinitive the best way to say "still isn't"?
Yes. While in English we use "still not" or "continues to not," Spanish typically uses the verb seguir followed by sin (literally "to continue without") and an infinitive. So sigue sin regresar is the most natural way to express that the eagle continues to be absent.
Does así que ever trigger the subjunctive mood?
Not when it means "so" or "therefore." In this sentence, así que introduces a result or consequence, which is a declaration of fact. Therefore, it is followed by the indicative mood, which is why we use the present indicative damos.
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