Question 1

Why does it say hacemos esquí instead of using the verb esquiar or ir a esquiar?

Accepted Answer

You can absolutely use the verb esquiar and say esquiamos (we ski). However, for many sports and activities, Spanish commonly uses hacer (to do) plus the noun. Hacemos esquí literally means "we do skiing", which is the standard way to express "we go skiing".

Question 2

The English translation says "in the mountains" (plural). Why is la montaña singular here?

Accepted Answer

In English, we usually pluralize "the mountains" to talk about the general landscape or region. In Spanish, it's much more common to use the singular la montaña for this general concept, just like you would say "the countryside" (el campo) or "the beach" (la playa).

Question 3

If the translation says "we go skiing", why does the Spanish use en la montaña (in) instead of a la montaña (to)?

Accepted Answer

The English phrase "go skiing" implies traveling. But the Spanish verb used here is hacemos (we do). Because the focus is on doing the activity at the location, Spanish uses en (in/at). If you used a verb of motion, you would use a (e.g., Vamos a la montaña = We go to the mountains).

Question 4

Why isn't there an article before the season, like en el invierno?

Accepted Answer

After the preposition en, Spanish often drops the definite article when talking about a season in a general sense. You would still use el if you were talking about a specific winter (like en el invierno de 2022) or if the season was the subject of the sentence (like El invierno es frío).

En invierno hacemos esquí en la montaña.

Breakdown of En invierno hacemos esquí en la montaña.

Questions & Answers about En invierno hacemos esquí en la montaña.

Learn En invierno hacemos esquí en la montaña and more in Spanish