Breakdown of El descubrimiento del relicario fue en el desván.
ser
to be
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
del
of the / from the / about the (topic)
el descubrimiento
the discovery
el desván
the attic
el relicario
the locket
Questions & Answers about El descubrimiento del relicario fue en el desván.
How would I apply this lesson's grammar to say "The discovery MUST HAVE BEEN in the attic"?
To express a strong logical deduction about an event that already happened, you use tener que + infinitive. In this case, you can use the preterite to state the completed deduction: El descubrimiento del relicario tuvo que ser en el desván. You might also use the imperfect (tenía que ser) if you are setting the scene in a narrative to mean "it logically had to be there."
Why does this sentence use fue (from ser) instead of estuvo (from estar) for a location?
It is true that physical location almost always requires estar. However, there is a major exception: when you are talking about where an event takes place (like a party, a meeting, or in this case, a discovery), you must use ser. Because a discovery is an event happening rather than an object just sitting there, it takes fue.
Does relicario just mean "relic"?
No. While it historically translates to "reliquary" (a container for religious relics), in everyday modern Spanish, un relicario is the standard word for a "locket" (a piece of jewelry holding a photo or memento). If you want to talk about an actual "relic," the word is una reliquia.
Is desván the same thing as ático?
Not quite, especially in Spain. Un desván is typically an unfinished storage space directly under the roof, like a classic dusty attic. Un ático, on the other hand, usually refers to a top-floor apartment or a penthouse. You might also hear una buhardilla, which refers to a room with a slanting roof that is often finished and livable.
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