Question 1

Why do we need the se in se reproducen? Can't we just say reproducen?

Accepted Answer

The verb reproducir means to copy or play something, like a video or a document. When talking about living things breeding or multiplying naturally, we use the pronominal form reproducirse. The se shows that the microorganisms are undergoing the process themselves, rather than acting on a separate direct object.

Question 2

How does this fit into our current lesson on using se with plural modal verbs?

Accepted Answer

If you wanted to say the microorganisms "can reproduce", you would add the modal verb poder. Because the subject Los microorganismos is plural, the modal verb must also be plural: se pueden reproducir (or pueden reproducirse). The pronoun se can either attach to the end of the infinitive or go before the conjugated modal verb.

Question 3

Why is it mucha humedad? Doesn't the word mucho usually stay masculine after hay?

Accepted Answer

The word mucha is acting as a quantifier for the noun humedad, so it must match its gender. Nouns ending in -dad (like humedad, ciudad, and verdad) are feminine in Spanish. Therefore, you must use the feminine mucha, regardless of the verb hay.

Question 4

Why do we use hay for humidity instead of hace? Don't we use hace for weather?

Accepted Answer

While we use hace for many weather expressions (like hace calor or hace viento), we use hay (there is/are) for atmospheric conditions that focus on the physical presence of something in the environment. This is why we say hay humedad (there is humidity), hay niebla (there is fog), and hay polvo (there is dust).

Los microorganismos se reproducen cuando hay mucha humedad.

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