Learn Spanish (Spain): Van a alquilar un coche para el viaje. - They are going to rent a car for the trip.

Van a alquilar un coche para el viaje.

They are going to rent a car for the trip.

Breakdown of Van a alquilar un coche para el viaje.

para

for / in order to (+ infinitive) / by (a deadline)

Questions & Answers about Van a alquilar un coche para el viaje.

Why is there an a between van and alquilar?

To say someone is 'going to' do something, Spanish uses a form of the verb ir (to go) followed by a and an action verb in its basic, unaltered form (the infinitive). You must always include the a to connect them. Here, van (they go) + a + alquilar (to rent) creates the meaning 'they are going to rent'.

Where is the word for 'they' in this sentence?

In Spanish, pronouns like ellos or ellas (they) are usually dropped because the verb form already tells you who is doing the action. Van is specifically the 'they' (or plural 'you') form of the verb ir, so we do not need to add ellos at the beginning of the sentence.

Why does this sentence use para instead of por for 'for'?

Both por and para translate to 'for' in English, which can be tricky! You use para when talking about a purpose, goal, or intended use. Since the car is being rented specifically for the purpose of the trip (el viaje), para is the correct choice here.

I have seen 'car' translated as carro or auto. Is coche different?