Word
El croquis muestra un choque frontal donde el camión embistió al auto.
Meaning
The sketch shows a head-on crash where the truck rammed the car.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of El croquis muestra un choque frontal donde el camión embistió al auto.
un
a, an (masculine)
al
to the
mostrar
to show
el camión
the truck
Questions & Answers about El croquis muestra un choque frontal donde el camión embistió al auto.
Why is there an al before auto? A car is an inanimate object, so why use the "personal a"?
This is a special use of the accusative a (often called the "personal a"). Because Spanish has flexible word order, el camión embistió el auto could technically mean "the truck rammed the car" or "the car rammed the truck". Adding the a to make al auto (a + el) acts as a direct object marker to show exactly which vehicle received the action, completely removing the ambiguity.
What is the infinitive of embistió and why does it have an 'i'?
Is croquis a common word, or is it specific to car crashes?
A croquis is a rough sketch, draft, or diagram. While architects and artists use it for quick drawings, it is also the standard word used in police or insurance reports for the diagram showing how an accident occurred. Notice it ends in an s, but it is singular here (el croquis). Its plural form stays exactly the same: los croquis.
Can donde be used for an event like a crash, rather than a physical place?