Mi abuelo dice que el trabajo es duro.

to be

Breakdown of Mi abuelo dice que el trabajo es duro.

• mi: my
• que: that
• el trabajo: the work
• decir: to say
• el abuelo: the grandfather
• duro: hard

Questions & Answers about Mi abuelo dice que el trabajo es duro.

Why do we add que in "Mi abuelo dice que el trabajo es duro"?

In Spanish, when you introduce indirect speech or a reported statement, you usually need a linking word. Que functions as a subordinating conjunction that introduces the statement being reported—so it’s like saying “My grandfather says that the job is tough” in English.

Why is it dice and not dice que for both parts of the sentence?

Actually, dice is the verb decir (meaning “to say”) in the third-person singular present tense. We place que right after dice because it connects the verb to the reported speech. If you remove que, the meaning can sound incomplete.

Why do we use the verb es (from ser) instead of something like está (from estar)?

Ser typically expresses an inherent characteristic or a permanent quality. Here, referring to the job as “tough” or “hard” is seen as a defining characteristic of that work, so es duro fits. If you said está duro, it would imply a more temporary state, which is less common in this context.

What does Mi abuelo literally translate to, and why use mi instead of el before abuelo?

Mi abuelo literally means “my grandfather.” In Spanish, possessive adjectives like mi (my) are used the same way as in English to show who something belongs to or who someone is related to. You wouldn’t use el (“the”) because you want to specify that it’s my grandfather.

Can we omit the article el in "el trabajo"?

In Spanish, you normally use the definite article el with general concepts or nouns used in a general sense—like talking about “work” as an abstract idea or a general job context. In this case, el trabajo is referring to “the work/job” in a general sense, so you usually wouldn’t drop the article.