Question 1

Why does this sentence start with Como? Doesn't that mean "like" or "I eat"?

Accepted Answer

While como often means "like" or "I eat", when it is placed at the very beginning of a sentence, it usually translates to "since" or "because". It sets up the reason for the rest of the sentence: since the knee is bad, I haven't walked.

Question 2

Why does it say la rodilla (the knee) instead of mi rodilla (my knee)?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, when talking about parts of the body, you almost always use the definite article (el, la, los, las) instead of a possessive word like mi (my). The context usually makes it clear whose body part it is.

Question 3

Why do we use está instead of es for "is bad"?

Accepted Answer

We use está (from the verb estar) because it describes a temporary physical condition or a state of health. The knee isn't inherently an evil or bad object (which would use es from ser); it is just currently injured or feeling unwell.

Question 4

Why is it está mal and not está mala if la rodilla is feminine?

Accepted Answer

Here, mal acts as an adverb meaning "poorly" or "unwell", rather than a descriptive adjective. Adverbs do not change their spelling to match feminine or plural nouns, so it stays as mal regardless of the gender of la rodilla.

Question 5

Why use he caminado (I have walked) instead of the simple past caminé (I walked)?

Accepted Answer

In Spain, the present perfect tense (he caminado) is standard when talking about past actions that happened in a time period that isn't finished yet. Because the sentence uses hoy (today), the day is still ongoing, so you use he caminado.

Como la rodilla está mal, hoy no he caminado.

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