Breakdown of El perro también es un animal.
Questions & Answers about El perro también es un animal.
Why is it un animal and not uno animal?
Un is the indefinite article meaning "a" or "an" for masculine singular nouns. While the number "one" is uno, it drops the -o and becomes un whenever it comes directly before a masculine noun like animal. Does Spanish use un here because animal starts with a vowel, similar to English using "an"?
No! In English, "a" changes to "an" to make pronunciation easier before a vowel sound. In Spanish, un is used here simply because animal is a masculine singular noun. If the noun were feminine, you would use una, regardless of whether it starts with a vowel or a consonant. Why do we use es instead of está for "is" in this sentence?
We use es (from the verb ser) because it describes what the dog fundamentally is—its basic identity, category, or definition. The other Spanish verb for "to be" (estar) is used for temporary states, feelings, or locations. Can I put también at the end of the sentence like we do in English?
Yes, you can! Saying El perro es un animal también (The dog is an animal too) is perfectly correct. However, putting también right before the verb, as shown in this sentence, is also very common and natural in Spanish. Learn El perro también es un animal and more in Spanish
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