Learn Spanish (Spain): La veterinaria vino, pero la mascota murió.

La veterinaria vino, pero la mascota murió.

The vet came, but the pet died.

Breakdown of La veterinaria vino, pero la mascota murió.

Questions & Answers about La veterinaria vino, pero la mascota murió.

Why is it murió with a u instead of morió?

The verb morir (to die) is an -ir verb. In the preterite (simple past) tense, some -ir verbs have a stem change in the third-person forms (he/she/it and they). For morir, the o changes to a u, giving us murió (it/he/she died) and murieron (they died). The other forms keep the o (like morí or moriste).

Which verb does vino come from?

It comes from venir (to come). Venir is highly irregular in the preterite tense. Instead of regular endings, its stem changes to vin-, making the he/she/it form vino (came). Be careful not to confuse it with the noun vino (wine)!

Does la veterinaria mean this specific vet is a woman?

Yes! In Spanish, many professions change their ending to match the gender of the person. A male vet is el veterinario and a female vet is la veterinaria.

If the pet is a male dog, would it become el mascota?

No, la mascota (the pet) is a fixed feminine noun, regardless of the animal's actual sex. You always say la mascota even if you are talking about a male animal. It works just like the word la persona (the person), which is always feminine whether it refers to a man or a woman.