Breakdown of Mi padre se fue enfadado.
Questions & Answers about Mi padre se fue enfadado.
Why use se fue instead of just fue here?
The verb ir means to go somewhere, usually focusing on the destination. However, adding the reflexive pronoun to make it irse changes the meaning to to leave or to go away, focusing on the act of departing. Since the father is leaving, se fue is required. Could I use salió instead of se fue to say he left?
Yes, but there is a subtle difference. Salir emphasizes physically exiting an enclosed space, like walking out of a room or building. Irse is more general and simply means he departed from wherever he was at the time. Why does the sentence use the adjective enfadado (angry) rather than an adverb meaning angrily?
In Spanish, it is very common to use an adjective to describe the emotional or physical state of the subject while they perform an action. English does this too here (leaving angry rather than leaving angrily). This adjective must describe the subject's state at that exact moment. Would enfadado change if it was my mother who left angry?
Yes. Because enfadado acts as an adjective describing the subject during the action, it must match the subject in gender and number. If the subject were feminine, the sentence would become Mi madre se fue enfadada. Learn Mi padre se fue enfadado and more in Spanish
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