Breakdown of Por eso terminaron dejando el zócalo rayado.
eso
that (neuter)
terminar
to finish / to end
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
dejar
to stop / to leave (something behind)
rayar
to scratch
el zócalo
the baseboard
Questions & Answers about Por eso terminaron dejando el zócalo rayado.
How does the dejar + past participle structure work in this sentence?
This structure expresses the final state of an object after an action. Here, dejar is used with the past participle rayado (scratched) to show the condition the baseboard was left in. When used in this resultative way, the past participle functions like an adjective describing the object.
If they had scratched the walls (las paredes) instead of the baseboard, how would the sentence change?
Why is terminaron dejando used instead of just dejaron?
Terminar followed by a gerund (words ending in -ando or -iendo, like dejando) is a common formula that means to end up doing something. While dejaron simply means they left it, terminaron dejando emphasizes that this scratched baseboard was the final, and likely unintended, outcome of whatever they were doing.
Does zócalo always mean baseboard?
In a house or architectural context, el zócalo means the baseboard or skirting board. However, in Mexico, el Zócalo is also the extremely common name for the main public square in a city, most famously in Mexico City. In this sentence, being scratched (rayado) makes it clear we are talking about a baseboard!
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