Breakdown of El balde precario se desprendió; por poco y ocurre una desgracia.
y
and
una
a, an (feminine)
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
poco
little / a little
Questions & Answers about El balde precario se desprendió; por poco y ocurre una desgracia.
Why is ocurre in the present tense if the near-miss happened in the past?
This is the core of the por poco structure! In Spanish, when you want to talk about something that almost happened in the past but didn't (an averted event), you often use por poco followed by the present indicative tense. Saying por poco y ocurre (literally "by a little and it occurs") makes the near-miss feel vivid and immediate, as if you are reliving the moment.
What is the y doing in por poco y ocurre? Can I leave it out?
Yes, you can leave it out. The y is simply a colloquial filler that is very common in spoken Latin American Spanish. Por poco ocurre and por poco y ocurre mean the exact same thing: "almost occurred."
Wait, does desgracia mean "disgrace"?
No, this is a classic false friend! Desgracia means a "tragedy," "misfortune," or terrible accident. If you want to say "disgrace" (in the sense of shame or dishonor), you would use a word like vergüenza or deshonra.
Why use the reflexive se desprendió instead of just desprendió?