Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): El médico limpia la herida con cuidado en el hospital. - The doctor cleans the wound carefully at the hospital.

In Spanish, when you refer to a specific person’s profession or role, you normally include the definite article (el, la) before the noun. So El médico translates literally as “the doctor,” indicating a known or context-specific doctor. Dropping the article (just saying Médico) would sound incomplete or overly formal in everyday speech.

Why is the verb limpia in the simple present tense rather than a progressive form like está limpiando?

Spanish often uses the simple present (limpia) to describe habitual actions or actions happening now, especially in narratives or descriptions. If you want to emphasize that the action is ongoing at this very moment, you could say El médico está limpiando la herida…, but limpia is perfectly natural to state the fact that he cleans the wound.

Why does the sentence use la herida instead of una herida?

Using la herida (“the wound”) implies that it’s a specific wound known to speaker and listener—perhaps the patient’s wound you’ve been talking about. If it were any wound in general, you could say una herida (“a wound”), but here we mean that particular one.

Why is there no personal “a” before la herida, even though it’s a direct object?

Spanish uses the personal “a” only when the direct object is a specific person, pet, or personified entity. Since herida (wound) is neither a person nor an animate being, we do not use the personal “a.” So it’s limpia la herida, not limpia a la herida.

What role does con cuidado play in the sentence, and what does it mean?

Con cuidado is a prepositional phrase functioning adverbially, modifying the verb limpia. It means “carefully.” So you’re describing how the doctor cleans the wound—namely, with care or carefully.

Could you move con cuidado to a different position in the sentence? Does word order matter?

Yes, Spanish word order for adverbial phrases is fairly flexible. You could say:
• El médico con cuidado limpia la herida en el hospital.
• El médico limpia con cuidado la herida en el hospital.
All versions are grammatically correct; you might shift it to emphasize either the caring manner or the action itself, but the basic meaning remains the same.

Why is en el hospital placed at the end of the sentence? Could it come earlier?

En el hospital is a locative phrase indicating where the action takes place. It’s most common at the end, but you can front it for emphasis:
• En el hospital, el médico limpia la herida con cuidado.
That version stresses the location upfront. Otherwise, leaving it at the end is simply the default, neutral placement.

What’s the difference between calling someone médico versus doctor in Spanish?

Both words can mean “doctor” in English, but:
• Médico refers specifically to a medical professional or physician.
• Doctor can be a title for anyone with a doctoral degree (PhD, JD, etc.), or informally for a medical doctor.
In a hospital context, médico is more precise if you’re talking about a physician.