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Mi hermano está trabajando en su tarea ahora.

Mi hermano está trabajando en su tarea ahora.
My brother is working on his homework now.
FromLesson 2inHardcore Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of Mi hermano está trabajando en su tarea ahora.

mi
my
estar
to be
ahora
now
en
on
el hermano
the brother
trabajar
to work
su
his
la tarea
the homework

Questions & Answers about Mi hermano está trabajando en su tarea ahora.

Why is the verb está trabajando (present progressive) used here instead of something like trabaja?
Spanish uses the present progressive (estar + gerund) to stress that an action is happening at this very moment. Saying está trabajando emphasizes that your brother is in the process of working on his homework right now, whereas trabaja could be more general and might not necessarily mean it's happening at this exact moment.
What does su refer to in su tarea?
Su is a possessive adjective meaning his, her, or their depending on context. In this sentence, since we’re talking about mi hermano, it means his. So su tarea is his homework.
Why do we say mi hermano and not el hermano mío?
In Spanish, the standard and most common way to say my brother is mi hermano. While you can use structures like el hermano mío, they tend to sound more formal, old-fashioned, or emphasize possession in a special context. Mi hermano is the usual everyday expression.
Could I say Mi hermano está trabajando en su tarea ahora mismo instead of just ahora?
Yes! Adding ahora mismo can provide extra emphasis that the action is happening right this very moment. Ahora and ahora mismo are both acceptable, but ahora mismo is stronger for emphasizing immediacy.
Does en su tarea literally translate to "in his homework" in English?
It can sound that way literally, but in Spanish, common expressions like trabajar en su tarea mean to work on his homework. It’s just how Spanish typically phrases the idea of “working on” something.
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“How does verb conjugation work in Spanish?”
Spanish verbs change form based on the subject, tense, and mood. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns depending on whether they end in ‑ar, ‑er, or ‑ir. For example, "hablar" (to speak) becomes "hablo" (I speak), "hablas" (you speak), and "habla" (he/she speaks) in the present tense.

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