Question 1

Why is it para ver and not por ver?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, we use para followed by an infinitive verb (like ver) to express purpose or intention. You can think of para in this sentence as meaning "in order to". He looked at the board in order to see the frequency of the buses.

Question 2

Why is the verb miró in the preterite tense rather than the imperfect (miraba)?

Accepted Answer

We use the preterite (miró) because looking at the display board was a single, completed action in the past. If you used miraba, it would imply he was in the middle of looking at it while something else happened, or that he used to look at it repeatedly.

Question 3

To say "looked at", why do we just use miró el panel without a preposition like a?

Accepted Answer

In English, we say "look at" something, but the Spanish verb mirar already includes the concept of "at" when observing an object. Therefore, "he looked at the board" is simply miró el panel. You don't need an extra word for "at" unless you are pointing out a direction.

Question 4

I know the singular word is autobús with an accent mark. Why doesn't autobuses have one?

Accepted Answer

When a word ends in a stressed vowel followed by an s (like autobús), it needs a written accent mark to show the stress is at the end. When you make it plural by adding -es, the word gains an extra syllable. The spoken stress stays on the bu, which is now the second-to-last syllable. Because standard Spanish rules dictate that words ending in s naturally stress the second-to-last syllable anyway, the written accent mark is no longer needed.

Mi hermano miró el panel para ver la frecuencia de los autobuses.

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