Why Are People Defending Mark Ruffalo?

Key vocabulary

• firmarv.

  to sign

  “Muchos artistas firmaron la carta de apoyo.”— Many artists signed the letter of support.

  Pattern firmar una carta to sign a letter

  Compare rubricar

  Present: firmo, firmas, firma, firmamos, firmáis, firman

  💡 From Latin firmare, meaning 'to make firm'; signing makes a document effective.

• apoyarv.

  to support

  “Los artistas apoyan a Ruffalo en su crítica.”— The artists support Ruffalo in his criticism.

  Pattern apoyar a alguien to support someone

  Compare respaldar

  Present: apoyo, apoyas, apoya, apoyamos, apoyáis, apoyan

  💡 Composed of a- + poyo (bench), originally meaning 'to lean on a bench', extended to mean support.

• acusarv.

  to accuse, to charge

  “Paramount acusó a Ruffalo de antisemitismo.”— Paramount accused Ruffalo of antisemitism.

  Pattern acusar a alguien de algo to accuse someone of something

  Compare culpar

  Past: acusó (third person singular)

  💡 From Latin accusare, composed of ad- (toward) + causa (cause).

• fusiónf.

  merger, fusion

  “La fusión entre Paramount y Warner es polémica.”— The merger between Paramount and Warner is controversial.

  Pattern la fusión de dos empresas the merger of two companies

  Compare unión

  Plural: fusiones

  💡 From Latin fusio, related to fundir (to melt).

• cuestionarv.

  to question, to challenge

  “Cuestionar la fusión no es antisemita.”— Questioning the merger is not antisemitic.

  Pattern cuestionar una decisión to question a decision

  Compare dudar

  Present: cuestiono, cuestionas, cuestiona, cuestionamos, cuestionáis, cuestionan

  💡 From Latin quaestio, meaning 'question'.

• absurdoadj.

  absurd, ridiculous

  “Es absurdo acusarlo sin pruebas.”— It is absurd to accuse him without evidence.

  Pattern es absurdo + infinitive it is absurd to do...

  Compare ridículo

  Feminine: absurda; plural: absurdos/absurdas

  💡 From Latin absurdus, composed of ab- (away) + surdus (deaf), originally meaning 'inharmonious'.

• peligrosoadj.

  dangerous

  “Llamar antisemita a alguien es peligroso.”— Calling someone antisemitic is dangerous.

  Pattern una situación peligrosa a dangerous situation

  Compare arriesgado

  Feminine: peligrosa; plural: peligrosos/peligrosas

  💡 Formed from peligro (danger) + -oso (full of...).

• criticarv.

  to criticize

  “Ruffalo criticó la fusión públicamente.”— Ruffalo criticized the merger publicly.

  Pattern criticar a alguien por algo to criticize someone for something

  Compare censurar

  Past: criticó (third person singular)

  💡 From Greek kritikos, meaning 'able to judge'.

• silenciarv.

  to silence, to suppress

  “No se debe silenciar la crítica legítima.”— Legitimate criticism should not be silenced.

  Pattern silenciar la crítica to silence criticism

  Compare acallar

  Present: silencio, silencias, silencia, silenciamos, silenciáis, silencian

  💡 From silencio (silence), -ar is a verb suffix.

• legítimoadj.

  legitimate, lawful

  “Tienen derecho a una crítica legítima.”— They have the right to legitimate criticism.

  Pattern crítica legítima legitimate criticism

  Compare válido

  Feminine: legítima; plural: legítimos/legítimas

  💡 From Latin legitimus, meaning 'lawful'.

Grammar spotlight

Sentence patterns to steal

• Paramount lo acusó de antisemitismo después de que él criticara la fusión con Warner Bros. Discovery.

  Paramount accused him of antisemitism after he criticized the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

  después de que + subjunctiveAfter después de que, you can use the subjunctive of different verbs, such as llegara, saliera, etc.

• La carta dice que llamar antisemita a Ruffalo por cuestionar una fusión es absurdo y peligroso.

  The letter says that calling Ruffalo antisemitic for questioning a merger is absurd and dangerous.

  llamar a alguien + noun + por + infinitiveThe noun can be replaced with other labels, such as héroe, traidor, etc.

• Los firmantes dicen que esta operación destruirá miles de empleos, consolidará el control de los medios y ahogará la creatividad.

  The signatories say that this operation will destroy thousands of jobs, consolidate media control, and stifle creativity.

  decir que + future tense (to express predictions)The future tense verbs can be replaced with other verbs, such as creará, eliminará, etc.

• Sin embargo, los artistas judíos defienden que criticar al gobierno de Israel no es antisemita y que estas acusaciones buscan silenciar la crítica legítima.

  However, the Jewish artists defend that criticizing the Israeli government is not antisemitic and that these accusations seek to silence legitimate criticism.

  defender que + indicativedefender can be replaced with sostener, afirmar, etc.