Phrase · 💥 Mishaps
Se nos estropeó el coche en plena autopista.
Our car broke down right in the middle of the road.
B2mishapses-ESAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Se1object pronoun(itself)3rd · direct objectnos1object pronounon usnosotros · 1st pl. · indirect objectestropeó2verbbroke downestropear · past · 3rd sing.eldeterminerthemasc. · sing. · definitecoche3nouncarmasc. · sing.enprepositioninplena4adjectivethe middle of (lit. full)pleno · fem. · sing.autopistanounroadfem. · sing..
- coche → estropeó: agree
- estropeó → nos: iobj
- coche → el: agree
- autopista → plena: agree
Word for word: “The car broke down on us in full road.”
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1Se nos + verb: accidental se. The breakdown happened to us; nobody is blamed. Accidental se and the middle voice →
- 2estropearse = to break down (Spain). Latin America says descomponerse: se nos descompuso el carro.
- 3coche is the Spanish word, understood everywhere; carro in Mexico, Colombia or Venezuela, auto in the Southern Cone.
- 4en pleno / plena + noun = right in the middle of. Pleno agrees: en pleno centro, en plena calle.
Variations
- Se nos descompuso el carro en plena autopista.
- Se nos descompuso el carro en plena carretera.