Breakdown of La metgessa és a l'hospital de la ciutat, i la meva germana va a l'hospital avui.
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Questions & Answers about La metgessa és a l'hospital de la ciutat, i la meva germana va a l'hospital avui.
Why is it la metgessa and not la doctora or el metge?
Metgessa means female doctor. It is the feminine form of metge (male doctor or sometimes a doctor in a general sense).
- el metge = the male doctor
- la metgessa = the female doctor
You could also hear doctora, but metge/metgessa is the basic everyday word for a medical doctor.
Why is there la before metgessa?
Catalan often uses the definite article more naturally than English does.
So:
- La metgessa és a l'hospital = The doctor is at the hospital
In context, Catalan usually prefers la/el when talking about a specific person already known in the conversation, even where English might sometimes just say Doctor in certain situations.
Why does it say la meva germana instead of just meva germana?
In Catalan, possessives usually go with the definite article.
So the normal pattern is:
- la meva germana = my sister
- el meu germà = my brother
- la nostra casa = our house
This is different from English, which does not use the with possessives.
Why is it and not ?