Breakdown of Con lo embrujado que está el castillo, ella sintió terror al ver al espíritu.
ella
she / her (after a preposition)
con
with / just by (+ -ing)
estar
to be (location/state)
ver
to see; to watch (TV, a film)
al
personal a + the (m)
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
lo
the … thing (neuter article before an adjective)
el castillo
the castle
sentir
to feel (something); to be sorry
el terror
the terror
embrujado
haunted
el espíritu
the spirit
Questions & Answers about Con lo embrujado que está el castillo, ella sintió terror al ver al espíritu.
How does the structure Con lo embrujado que está work here?
This sentence uses the structure con lo + adjective + que + indicative. It emphasizes the high degree of something to explain a consequence. It translates naturally to "Given how [adjective]" or "With how [adjective]". Here, it gives the reason for her terror: because the castle is so heavily haunted.
Why do we use está with embrujado? Isn't a castle being haunted a permanent characteristic?
Could I say cuando vio instead of al ver?
Yes, you could. Using al followed by an infinitive is just a concise, slightly more elegant way to express "upon doing [something]" or "when [something] happens". Saying cuando vio al espíritu would mean exactly the same thing.
Why is the personal a used before espíritu (combining with el to make al)?
The personal a is normally for specific people or pets, but it is also used when an entity is personified, meaning it is treated as a being with agency or a human-like presence. Since a spirit is an active entity she is looking at, it takes the personal a.
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