Breakdown of Tardamos dos horas en modelar un jarrón de cerámica.
de
of
un
a, an, some
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
dos
two
la hora
the hour; the time (on the clock: what time is it?)
tardar
to take (time)
modelar
to model
el jarrón
the vase
la cerámica
the pottery
Questions & Answers about Tardamos dos horas en modelar un jarrón de cerámica.
Why do we use en before modelar instead of para?
Because the verb tardar (to take time) has a special rule. Whenever you state how long it takes to do an action, you must use the structure tardar + [time] + en + [infinitive]. Even though English says 'takes two hours to model', Spanish always requires en here, not para.
Does tardamos mean 'we take' or 'we took'?
Why is it un jarrón de cerámica rather than using an adjective like un jarrón cerámico?
While Spanish has adjectives for materials, it is much more common and natural to use de + [noun] to describe what an object is made out of. So, 'ceramic vase' becomes jarrón de cerámica (literally 'vase of ceramic').
Is the word jarrón (vase) related to jarra (pitcher)?
Yes! The -ón ending is an augmentative suffix, which implies a larger size. While una jarra is a jug or pitcher used for pouring drinks, un jarrón is a large, usually decorative vase.
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