Learn Spanish (Spain): Si tienes los prismáticos, apúntalos hacia la luna. - If you have the binoculars, point them towards the moon.

Si tienes los prismáticos, apúntalos hacia la luna.

If you have the binoculars, point them towards the moon.

Breakdown of Si tienes los prismáticos, apúntalos hacia la luna.

Questions & Answers about Si tienes los prismáticos, apúntalos hacia la luna.

Why do we use hacia here instead of a?

Hacia specifically translates to "towards" and emphasizes the physical direction you are pointing the binoculars. If you used a (as in a la luna), it would mean pointing "at" or "to" the moon. Both are perfectly fine, but hacia focuses strongly on the direction of your gaze.

Why does the command apúntalos have a written accent mark?

The base verb is apunta (the informal command for "point" or "aim"). When we attach the direct object pronoun los ("them") to the end of an affirmative command, it adds an extra syllable. We must add a written accent mark to keep the spoken stress on the original syllable (a-PUN-ta becomes a-PUN-ta-los).

Is the word prismáticos always plural?

Yes, los prismáticos is always plural because it refers to a single instrument made of two symmetrical parts, exactly like "binoculars" or "glasses" in English. Because it is a plural noun, we must use the plural pronoun los in apúntalos to refer back to it.

Why is tienes in the normal present tense? Doesn't si trigger the subjunctive?

Not for realistic, everyday possibilities. When you make a realistic "if" statement like this one, Spanish requires si followed by the normal present indicative tense. You only use the subjunctive after si for imaginary or highly unlikely scenarios.