Breakdown of El domingo es para descansar.
ser
to be
para
for / in order to (+ infinitive) / by (a deadline)
descansar
to rest
el domingo
the Sunday
Questions & Answers about El domingo es para descansar.
Why is there an el before domingo when the English translation just says "Sunday"?
In Spanish, days of the week almost always need the definite article (el or los). While English just says "Sunday" when it is the subject of the sentence, Spanish requires you to say el domingo (literally "the Sunday").
Since the lesson says el means "on", shouldn't this mean "On Sunday is for resting"?
El and los do translate to "on" when you are talking about an action happening on a specific day, like "I work on Sunday". However, because days of the week basically always need an article in Spanish, el domingo can mean "on Sunday" OR just "Sunday". In this sentence, just "Sunday" makes the most sense in English!
Why does Spanish use descansar (to rest) instead of a word ending in -ing for "resting"?
In English, we often use "-ing" words after prepositions like "for". But in Spanish, whenever a verb comes directly after a preposition like para, it must stay in its basic dictionary form (the infinitive ending in -ar, -er, or -ir). So "for resting" translates to para descansar (literally "for to rest").
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