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No usamos el alambre para mantener el tronco inclinado.

No usamos el alambre para mantener el tronco inclinado.
We didn't use the wire to keep the trunk slanted.
From Lesson 464:Completed past actions (después de que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about No usamos el alambre para mantener el tronco inclinado.

Why is "usamos" translated as past tense ("didn't use") when it looks like the present tense?
For -ar verbs, the nosotros form is exactly the same in both the present tense and the preterite (completed past) tense: usamos. You have to rely on the surrounding context to know which time frame is meant.
Why do we use para instead of por before mantener?
We use para here because it expresses the specific purpose or goal of the action. The wire was not used in order to keep the trunk slanted. Whenever you can substitute "in order to" in English, para plus the infinitive is almost always the right choice.
Is inclinado functioning as a verb or an adjective here?
It is the past participle of the verb inclinar, but here it acts as an adjective describing the physical state of el tronco (the trunk). Because it acts as an adjective, it must agree in gender and number with the masculine, singular noun it modifies.
What is the difference between alambre and cable in Spanish?
Alambre refers to a simple, bare metal wire, like the kind you might wrap around a tree trunk to train it, or wire used for a fence. A cable usually refers to insulated electrical cords, data wires, or very thick, heavy-duty industrial cables.

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