Breakdown of No mencionan que el rumor descabellado desprestigie al actor.
no
no, not
el actor
the actor
que
that / than
el rumor
rumor
mencionar
to mention
descabellado
absurd (far-fetched)
desprestigiar
to discredit
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
Questions & Answers about No mencionan que el rumor descabellado desprestigie al actor.
Why is desprestigie in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative desprestigia?
It is because of the negative communication phrase No mencionan que. Verbs of communication and reporting (like mencionar, decir, and afirmar) use the indicative when affirmative because they declare a fact. However, when you make them negative, they stop declaring a fact and instead introduce doubt or denial. This triggers the subjunctive for the second verb (desprestigie).
The word descabellado looks like it has the word cabello (hair) in it. Is that a coincidence?
Why do we use al actor at the end instead of just el actor?
This is a reminder of the personal a. Even though the actor is the direct object receiving the action of the verb, Spanish requires the preposition a whenever the direct object is a specific person. Here, a combines with the masculine article el to make the contraction al.
Is there an easy way to remember the meaning of the verb desprestigiar?
Look at the root of the word: prestigio, which means prestige. Adding the negative prefix des- and the verb ending -ar gives you desprestigiar, which literally means to take away prestige. This is why it translates nicely to discredit, smear, or tarnish a reputation.
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