Hoy visito la escuela con mi familia.

Today I visit the school with my family.

Breakdown of Hoy visito la escuela con mi familia.

• yo: I
• con: with
• mi: my
• la familia: the family
• visitar: to visit
• la escuela: the school
• hoy: today

Questions & Answers about Hoy visito la escuela con mi familia.

Why does the sentence use visito instead of something like estoy visitando?

In Spanish, the simple present tense (visito) can indicate an action happening right now or a habitual action, depending on context. While estoy visitando literally translates to I am visiting, the simple present can also be used for current actions, especially when paired with words like hoy (today). It sounds completely natural and emphasizes that you have scheduled or planned this visit for today.

Why do we say la escuela with the definite article la?

In Spanish, common nouns almost always need an article, whether definite (el, la) or indefinite (un, una) unless there is a specific grammatical reason to omit it. La escuela indicates that you are talking about a known or specific school. In English, you might say I’m visiting school today without an article, but in Spanish, we typically include it.

Does mi familia refer to one person or multiple people?

In Spanish, mi familia is treated as a singular collective noun, even though it represents more than one person. Grammatically, you’d still use singular verbs with mi familia (e.g., Mi familia es…, Mi familia va…). However, when talking about individual family members or referring to them as individuals, you would make it plural (for example, mis padres, mis hermanos, etc.).

Why isn’t there a personal a before la escuela?

You use the personal a in Spanish when the direct object is a specific person or pet. La escuela here is not a person; it’s an institution, so no personal a is needed. If you were visiting a person, for example visito a mi abuela, you would use a.