Breakdown of El gato pequeño tiene miedo.
Questions & Answers about El gato pequeño tiene miedo.
Why does the sentence use tiene (has) instead of a word for "is"?
In Spanish, feelings like being afraid, hungry, or cold are expressed using the verb tener (to have). You don't say the cat is afraid; you say it has fear (tiene miedo). Why does pequeño come after gato?
In English we put the describing word (adjective) before the noun ("small cat"), but in Spanish it usually goes right after it. That is why it is gato pequeño (literally "cat small"). Why is the verb spelled tiene and not "tene"?
The verb tener (to have) is irregular. When used for "he", "she", or "it", the letter "e" splits into "ie", making it tiene. Because we are talking about el gato (the cat), we use this "it" form. If the cat were female, would the word miedo change to mieda?
No, miedo (fear) is a noun, and its gender is always masculine regardless of who is feeling it. If the cat were female, you would say la gata pequeña tiene miedo. Only the words for "the", "cat", and "small" change to match the female cat. Learn El gato pequeño tiene miedo and more in Spanish
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