Breakdown of Hay cada vez menos biodiversidad por la deforestación.
cada vez menos
less and less / fewer and fewer
por
because of (cause)
haber
there to be (existential)
la biodiversidad
the biodiversity
la deforestación
the deforestation
Questions & Answers about Hay cada vez menos biodiversidad por la deforestación.
Why is "less and less" translated as cada vez menos instead of repeating the word "less"?
In Spanish, you do not repeat the comparative word like we do in English. Instead, you use the set phrase cada vez (literally "each time") followed by the comparative. So, "less and less" is cada vez menos, and "more and more" would be cada vez más.
Why use por instead of para here?
Why is there a la before deforestación when the English translation is just "deforestation"?
In Spanish, when you talk about general concepts, abstract ideas, or nouns in a broad sense, you must use the definite article (el, la, los, las). English drops the article for general concepts like deforestation, but Spanish requires it.
Could I put cada vez menos after biodiversidad?
No, cada vez menos acts as a quantifier phrase modifying biodiversidad. Just like you put "less" before the noun in English, in Spanish quantifiers like menos, más, or mucho almost always come before the noun they modify.
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