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El cachorrito juega con la pelota.

El cachorrito juega con la pelota.
The little puppy plays with the ball.
From Lesson 149:Diminutives (-ito / -ita)·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of El cachorrito juega con la pelota.

con
with
jugar
to play
la pelota
the ball
el cachorro
the puppy

Questions & Answers about El cachorrito juega con la pelota.

How do we form the word cachorrito from cachorro?
To add the diminutive suffix -ito to a noun that ends in a vowel, you drop that final vowel first. So, cachorro (puppy) loses its -o and gets -ito attached to the end, becoming cachorrito (little puppy).
Does cachorrito just mean the puppy is physically small?
The suffix -ito implies small size, which makes sense here for a little puppy. However, in Latin America, it is also heavily used to show affection. Calling an animal a cachorrito makes it sound much cuter and more endearing than just saying cachorro.
Why is the verb spelled juega instead of "juga"?
The verb jugar (to play) is a stem-changing verb. In the present tense, when talking about he, she, or it (like our puppy), the u in the stem changes to ue. That is why it becomes juega.
Is there a difference between pelota and balón?
Yes! Both mean "ball", but pelota is typically used for smaller balls, like a tennis ball, baseball, or a generic toy ball a dog might fetch. A balón is usually a larger, air-filled ball used in team sports, like a soccer ball (balón de fútbol).

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