Breakdown of El vino va fermentando en el barril y cogiendo su aroma.
y
and
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
su
his / her / their / your (formal)
ir
to go
coger
to take
el vino
the wine
fermentar
to ferment
el barril
the barrel
el aroma
the aroma
Questions & Answers about El vino va fermentando en el barril y cogiendo su aroma.
Why do we use va fermentando instead of está fermentando?
While está fermentando just means the wine is fermenting right now, using the verb ir with a gerund (a verb ending in -ando or -iendo) emphasizes a gradual process. Va fermentando paints a picture of the wine fermenting slowly, little by little, over a period of time.
Why isn't there another va before cogiendo?
Because fermentando and cogiendo are joined by y (and), they share the same helping verb. You do not need to repeat va; the sentence naturally flows as 'gradually fermenting and taking on'.
Doesn't coger usually mean 'to grab' or 'to catch'? Why is it translated as 'taking on' here?
Whose aroma does su refer to in su aroma?
It can actually refer to either the wine or the barrel! The possessive adjective su translates to 'its' in this case, but Spanish grammar alone does not specify if it belongs to el vino or el barril. It could mean the wine is developing its own mature aroma, or absorbing the barrel's woody aroma.
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