Breakdown of El doctor trabaja en una clínica cerca del parque.
de
of
trabajar
to work
el parque
the park
en
at
una
a
cerca
near
el doctor
the doctor
la clínica
the clinic
Questions & Answers about El doctor trabaja en una clínica cerca del parque.
Why is El doctor used here instead of La doctora?
In Spanish, the masculine article el is used because the sentence refers to a male doctor. If the doctor were a woman, it would be La doctora.
Why does cerca become cerca del instead of cerca de el?
In Spanish, de + el merges into del. So rather than saying cerca de el parque, you say cerca del parque. This is simply how Spanish grammar handles masculine singular articles after de.
Why is it una clínica and not la clínica in this sentence?
Using una emphasizes that it’s a clinic, not necessarily the clinic the speaker already identified or visited. If you said la clínica, it would refer to a specific clinic the speaker and listener already know about.
What’s the difference between trabaja and trabajar?
Trabajar is the infinitive form meaning "to work." Trabaja is the present tense conjugation for "he works," "she works," or "you (formal) work." In this sentence, trabaja is used because it describes what the doctor is doing in the present tense.
Could I say El médico instead of El doctor?
Yes, médico also means "doctor" in Spanish. Both are acceptable, although doctor is very common. Médico can sometimes emphasize the professional training or role, while doctor may be used more generally.
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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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