Breakdown of En este microscopio no se pueden distinguir ni los núcleos ni las membranas.
no
no, not
en
in / on / at
poder
to be able to / can
este
this
se
(impersonal) one / passive marker
ni
nor / not even
el núcleo
core
el microscopio
the microscope
distinguir
to distinguish
la membrana
the membrane
Questions & Answers about En este microscopio no se pueden distinguir ni los núcleos ni las membranas.
Why is it pueden (plural) when the action is the singular word distinguir?
This is a passive reflexive sentence. The true subjects of the sentence are the things being distinguished (los núcleos and las membranas). Since those are plural, the conjugated modal verb poder must be in the plural form (pueden) to agree with them. The pronoun se combined with the verb makes it passive ("can be distinguished").
Could the se be attached to the end of distinguir instead?
Yes! When you have a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive (like pueden distinguir), the pronoun se can either go before the conjugated verb (se pueden distinguir) or attach directly to the end of the infinitive (pueden distinguirse). Both are perfectly correct and mean the exact same thing.
Why does the sentence use no before the verb if it already says ni... ni... later?
In Spanish, if a negative word like ni (neither/nor), nunca (never), or nadie (nobody) comes after the verb, you must include no before the verb to make it a double negative. If you changed the word order to put the subjects first (Ni los núcleos ni las membranas se pueden distinguir), you would drop the no.
Why do we say en este microscopio instead of using bajo (under) or con (with)?
Prepositions rarely translate word-for-word. In Spanish, you look "in" an optical instrument like a microscope, telescope, or binoculars. So, en el microscopio is the natural way to say "under the microscope" or "with the microscope".
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