Breakdown of Pon la brújula en la mesa si vamos al mar.
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
la mesa
the table
ir
to go
al
to the (m)
poner
to put / to set (the table) / to make (an excuse) / to give, to impose (a fine, a penalty)
el mar
the sea
si
if
la brújula
the compass
Questions & Answers about Pon la brújula en la mesa si vamos al mar.
Why does this sentence use a command (pon) before the si part?
This is the first conditional structure you are learning! You can combine a command with a si (if) clause in the present tense. Here, you are telling someone what to do (pon) on the condition that something else happens (si vamos). The order can also be swapped: Si vamos al mar, pon la brújula en la mesa.
Where does the word pon come from?
Pon is the informal command (for tú) of the verb poner (to put). It is an irregular command. Instead of following the normal rule of taking the present tense and dropping the 's', it shrinks all the way down to just pon.
Why is it al mar instead of a el mar?
In Spanish, when the preposition a (to) is followed by the masculine article el (the), they must always combine into the single word al. Since mar (sea) is masculine, we say al mar (to the sea).
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