El señor alquila una bicicleta.

El is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

It is used with señor because señor is a masculine singular noun. So:

• el señor = the man / the gentleman / the mister

Spanish usually uses articles more often than English does, so el señor sounds natural here.

Because bicicleta is a feminine noun.

In Spanish, nouns have grammatical gender, so the article has to match:

• un = a/an for masculine singular nouns
• una = a/an for feminine singular nouns

So:

• una bicicleta = a bicycle

A common clue is that nouns ending in -a are often feminine, and bicicleta follows that pattern.

Señor can mean several related things, depending on context:

• Mr.
• sir
• gentleman
• sometimes simply man

In El señor alquila una bicicleta, it often feels like the man or the gentleman.

Also, notice the ñ. It is a separate letter in Spanish and is pronounced like the ny in canyon.

Alquilar is the infinitive, which is the basic dictionary form: to rent.

In the sentence, the verb is conjugated to match el señor:

• alquilar = to rent
• él alquila = he rents

Since el señor is a third-person singular subject, Spanish uses alquila.

This is the present tense of an -ar verb:

• yo alquilo
• tú alquilas
• él/ella/usted alquila

It can mean either, depending on context.

Spanish alquilar is broader than English rent in some situations. It can refer to:

• renting something for yourself
• renting something out to someone else

So context tells you who is giving and who is receiving.

In this sentence, if the meaning shown to the learner is The man rents a bicycle, then the idea is that he is getting the bicycle for use.

If you want to make things clearer in other contexts, Spanish might use more words, such as:

• alquilar una bicicleta = to rent a bicycle
• alquilarle una casa a alguien = to rent a house to someone

Yes, but this is the most neutral and common word order:

• Subject + Verb + Object
• El señor
  • alquila
    • una bicicleta

This is very similar to normal English word order:

• The man rents a bicycle

Spanish can sometimes change word order for emphasis, style, or in questions, but the basic order here is simple and standard.

Yes.

Spanish often drops subject pronouns and sometimes even other subject expressions when the context is clear. Because the verb alquila already tells you it is he/she/you formal in the present tense, Spanish can say:

• Alquila una bicicleta.

That could mean:

• He rents a bicycle
• She rents a bicycle
• You (formal) rent a bicycle

Adding el señor makes the subject explicit.

Because una bicicleta is a thing, not a person.

Spanish uses the personal a before a specific human direct object:

• Veo a María. = I see María.

But with objects or animals treated as things, you usually do not use it:

• Alquila una bicicleta. = He rents a bicycle.

So there is no a here because bicicleta is an object.

A simple Latin American-style pronunciation would be roughly:

• el sen-YOR al-KEE-la OO-na bee-see-KLE-ta

A few helpful notes:

• el = like ehl
• señor = sen-YOR with ñ sounding like ny
• alquila = al-KEE-la
• una = OO-na
• bicicleta = bee-see-KLE-ta

Stress:

• señor
• alquila
• bicicleta

Spanish and English do not always use articles the same way.

Here, una bicicleta means a bicycle, referring to one nonspecific bicycle. Spanish requires an article here.

Compare:

• una bicicleta = a bicycle
• la bicicleta = the bicycle

English sometimes leaves articles out in places where Spanish would not, but in this sentence Spanish definitely needs one.

No.

Señor is not exactly the same as hombre.

• señor often sounds more polite or formal
• hombre simply means man

So:

• El señor alquila una bicicleta can sound like The gentleman rents a bicycle or The man rents a bicycle
• El hombre alquila una bicicleta is more directly The man rents a bicycle

Both are possible, but señor often has a more respectful tone.