Question 1

The lesson is about the impersonal 3rd-person plural. How would I change this sentence to say "People believe in angels"?

Accepted Answer

You would remove the specific subject (mi abuela) and change the verb to the 3rd-person plural: Creen en los ángeles. In Spanish, using the "they" form without a specific subject is a common way to express what "people in general" do, say, or believe.

Question 2

English just says "believes in angels." Why does Spanish add the word los (los ángeles)?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, when you talk about a noun in a general, universal, or abstract sense (like angels as a whole concept), you must include the definite article (el, la, los, las). While English drops the "the," leaving it out in Spanish sounds unnatural.

Question 3

Is "to believe" always followed by en in Spanish?

Accepted Answer

It is when you mean "to believe in" someone or something's existence or principles, just like in English. However, if you simply mean believing that something is a fact or believing what someone tells you, you don't use en. For example, Creo que va a llover (I believe that it's going to rain) or Le creo a mi abuela (I believe my grandmother).

Question 4

Why does the word ángeles have a written accent mark?

Accepted Answer

When you pronounce ángeles, the stress falls on the third-to-last syllable (án-ge-les). In Spanish, any word where the natural stress falls on the third-to-last syllable always gets a written accent mark, regardless of what letter the word ends in.

Mi abuela cree en los ángeles.

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