Breakdown of Este documental no tiene subtítulos.
no
no / not
tener
to have
este
this (m.sg., also esta, estos, estas, esto)
el documental
the documentary
el subtítulo
the subtitle
Questions & Answers about Este documental no tiene subtítulos.
Why do we use Este instead of Esto here?
Este is the masculine singular word for 'this' when it comes right before a masculine noun, like documental. Learners often confuse it with esto, but esto is the neuter form. You only use esto when you are talking about an abstract idea, a general situation, or an object you cannot identify. Since we know the specific noun here is documental, we use Este.
How can I tell that documental is a masculine noun?
Why is there no article like los before subtítulos?
In Spanish, when you are talking about possessing or lacking a plural noun in a very general sense, you usually drop the article after the verb tener. Just like in English you say 'It does not have subtitles', Spanish says no tiene subtítulos. If you said no tiene los subtítulos, it would change the meaning to 'It does not have the specific subtitles we were just talking about'.
Why does subtítulos have a written accent mark on the 'i'?
The accent mark tells you where to put the stress when pronouncing the word. In subtítulos, the stress falls on the third-to-last syllable (sub-TÍ-tu-los). In Spanish grammar, any word where the spoken stress naturally falls on this third-to-last syllable must always have a written accent mark to show it.
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