Yo oigo un sonido metálico en la sala.

I hear a metallic sound in the living room.

Breakdown of Yo oigo un sonido metálico en la sala.

• yo: I
• en: in
• la sala: the living room
• el sonido: the sound
• oír: to hear
• metálico: metallic

Questions & Answers about Yo oigo un sonido metálico en la sala.

Why is the subject pronoun yo included at the beginning? Is it necessary?

In Spanish, verb endings (like oigo) already tell you who is doing the action, so you can usually drop yo. Writers or speakers sometimes include yo to add emphasis (“I hear…”), contrast with someone else, or simply for clarity. If you omit it, Oigo un sonido metálico en la sala is still correct and means the same thing.

What’s the difference between oír (oigo) and escuchar?

Oír means “to hear” in the sense of perceiving sound—often passively. Escuchar means “to listen,” implying active attention. So in oigo un sonido metálico, you’re saying you notice or detect a metallic sound, not necessarily that you’re focusing on it.

Why is it un sonido metálico rather than un metálico sonido?

In Spanish, most adjectives follow the noun they describe. You say sonido metálico (sound metallic) rather than placing the adjective before. The indefinite article un matches the singular masculine noun sonido.

Why is sonido masculine? Could it ever be feminine?

Nouns ending in -o are typically masculine in Spanish, so you use el sonido and un sonido. There’s no common feminine form for sonido. The adjective metálico also takes the masculine ending to agree with sonido.

Can I use en el salón instead of en la sala?

Yes. In Latin America, sala (living room) is very common, but salón also works (especially in some countries or contexts). You could say en el salón without changing the meaning.

How do you pronounce oigo, and where is the stress?

Oigo is pronounced [ˈoiɣo]. The stress falls on the first syllable “OI,” so it sounds like “OY-go.”

Could I replace un sonido metálico with algo metálico (something metallic)?

Yes, you could say oigo algo metálico en la sala, which means “I hear something metallic in the room.” However, sonido metálico specifies that you’re hearing a metallic-sounding noise, while algo metálico might be understood as hearing something made of metal rather than the quality of the sound.