Breakdown of Oye, a los tres días de fichar al jugador, se pusieron a entrenar.
de
of
al
personal a + the (m)
tres
three
el día
the day
a
at (a time)
entrenar
to train
el jugador
the player
oye
hey, listen (informal)
ponerse a
to start (+ infinitive)
fichar
to sign (a player)
Questions & Answers about Oye, a los tres días de fichar al jugador, se pusieron a entrenar.
How does the phrase a los tres días de work here to mean "three days after"?
This is the key structure of the current lesson: a los + [time period] + de + [infinitive]. It is used to express how much time passed between an initial event and the main action. Literally it translates to "at the three days of", but the natural English equivalent is "three days after".
Why do we use the infinitive fichar here instead of a conjugated verb or a gerund?
In Spanish, whenever a verb immediately follows a preposition like de, it must be in its infinitive form. Even though we might say "signing" in English, Spanish strictly requires the infinitive fichar.
Why is it al jugador instead of just el jugador?
This is a reminder of the "personal a". When the direct object of a verb is a specific person, Spanish requires the preposition a right before it. Here, a combines with the masculine article el to form the contraction al.
What nuance does se pusieron a give to the translation "they started to"?
The structure ponerse a followed by an infinitive means "to start" or "to begin" doing something. At a B2 level, it is good to note that it often implies a deliberate, energetic, or sudden start. Here, se pusieron a entrenar carries the feeling that they got right down to business and started training.
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