Breakdown of El águila se dañó la garra, así que damos por fallida la cacería.
dañar
to damage
se
himself/herself (reflexive)
así que
so (consequence)
dar por
to consider as
la cacería
the hunt
el águila
the eagle
la garra
the claw
fallido
failed
Questions & Answers about El águila se dañó la garra, así que damos por fallida la cacería.
How does the phrase damos por fallida work in this sentence?
The structure dar por followed by an adjective or past participle is used to express that someone considers, declares, or assumes something to be a certain way. Here, damos por fallida means we consider it failed. Notice that the adjective fallida must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes, which is the feminine singular cacería.
Why is it el águila if the word for eagle is feminine?
Águila is indeed a feminine noun. However, because it begins with a stressed A sound, Spanish uses the masculine singular article el to avoid the awkward pronunciation of la águila running together. If it were plural, it would revert to the feminine article: las águilas.
Why does the sentence use se dañó la garra instead of dañó su garra?
In Spanish, when referring to body parts, you typically use a reflexive pronoun (like se) combined with a definite article (like la) rather than a possessive adjective like su. The pronoun se indicates who is affected, so the sentence literally conveys that the eagle damaged the claw to itself.
Could I use fallada instead of fallida here?
While both relate to the verb fallar (to fail), fallida is the specific adjective form used to describe something as unsuccessful, such as an attempt, a plan, or a hunt. The regular past participle fallada is mostly reserved for forming perfect tenses (like ha fallado) or for specific legal verdicts.
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