Breakdown of Todo dispositivo electrónico será retenido por el director.
ser
to be
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
todo
all / everything
el director
the director
el dispositivo
device
retener
to confiscate / to retain
electrónico
electronic
Questions & Answers about Todo dispositivo electrónico será retenido por el director.
Why use the future tense será retenido if this is a school or workplace rule?
In administrative, legal, or regulatory contexts, the future tense often acts as a strict command or rule, similar to "shall" in formal English. Here, it establishes the regulation that the device must be retained, rather than just predicting what will happen.
Why is it Todo dispositivo instead of Todos los dispositivos or Cada dispositivo?
Placing todo directly before a singular noun without an article means "every" or "any" in a broad, universal sense. It is the standard way to write rules applying to a whole category. While todos los dispositivos means "all the devices" and cada dispositivo means "each device", todo dispositivo sounds much more formal and regulatory.
I thought Spanish preferred the passive se over using ser. Why use será retenido here?
Everyday spoken Spanish definitely prefers the passive se (such as se retendrá). However, the true passive voice using ser is very common in formal or administrative writing. It is also required here because the sentence explicitly names who performs the action using por el director, which you cannot do with the passive se.
Does retenido mean the director is permanently confiscating the device?
Generally no. Retener implies holding or keeping something temporarily. In this context, it usually means the device is held until the end of the day or until a parent retrieves it. If the rule meant permanent seizure, it would likely use a word like confiscado.
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