Breakdown of El cetrero da por domado al halcón sin la caperuza.
sin
without
al
personal 'a' + the (marks a human direct object)
el cetrero
the falconer
el halcón
the falcon
dar por
to consider as
la caperuza
the hood (garment)
domar
to tame
Questions & Answers about El cetrero da por domado al halcón sin la caperuza.
How exactly does the phrase da por domado translate to "considers tamed"?
This sentence uses the evaluative structure dar por + past participle. In this context, dar doesn't mean "to give". Instead, the phrase dar por means "to consider as" or "to assume to be". By combining it with the past participle domado (tamed), it means the falconer has evaluated the situation and concluded that the bird has officially reached a tamed state.
Does the past participle domado need to agree with the subject (el cetrero) or the object (el halcón)?
It must agree with the direct object, which is the thing being evaluated. Because halcón is a masculine, singular noun, the participle is domado. If the falconer were evaluating a female animal, such as a mare (la yegua), it would change to da por domada.
Could I just say considera domado al halcón instead?
Yes, using the verb considerar works perfectly and means the same thing. However, the dar por construction is a very common, native-sounding way to express that someone is officially treating a task as finished or a condition as met. You will hear it frequently in set phrases like lo doy por hecho (I consider it done).
Why is there a "personal a" in al halcón (a + el) if a falcon isn't a human?
While the "personal a" is primarily used for specific people, it is also regularly used for specific, individualized animals. Because this is a falconer working closely with his specific bird, the falcon is treated as a familiar individual with a relationship to the subject, rather than just a generic, anonymous animal.
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