Why is en used?

Question

Why is en used? "Eduardo fue el primero en completar la maraton." Doesn't it mean "Edward was the first to complete the marathon."

Answer 1

In Spanish, instead of saying "He was the first to do something" we say something more like "He was the first in doing something." The thing is, in Spanish you can't use the equivalent of our "-ing" verbs as nouns (like in the second sentence "doing" is actually used as a noun) so you have to use in ("en") plus an infinitive (the "-ar", "-er", or "-ir" form of the verb) if a verb is used as a noun in a sentence.

So:

"Fue el primero completar el maratón" is WRONG even though it literally means "He was the first to complete the marathon" because the "en" is necessary in Spanish.

AND

"Fue el primero en completando el maratón" is ALSO WRONG because "-ando" and "-iendo" verbs in Spanish (called the "gerund") can't be used as nouns.

BUT

"Fue el primero en completar el maratón." is the correct way to say it. Hope this helps!!

PC: how do we know that this is a verb used as a noun in this case? It is not an 'ing' situation, or is it? - yahvey_hoffman, Aug 21, 2012

He was the first IN completing the marathon. (completing can't be used in Spanish and IN is not used in English. - ian-hill, Aug 21, 2012

Gerunds aren't nouns in Spanish, instead you use an infinitive if a verb serves as a noun...such as this case, I believe...anyway that sentence for Word of the Day is correct - PumpkinCalabaza, Aug 21, 2012