Breakdown of La dentista trabaja en la clínica.
en
in
trabajar
to work
la clínica
the clinic
la dentista
the dentist
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Spanish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about La dentista trabaja en la clínica.
Why is there a definite article la before dentista instead of just saying dentista trabaja?
In Spanish, most nouns—especially professions—require an article when they’re the subject of the sentence. Here, la marks “the dentist” as a specific person. Dropping the article (saying simply dentista trabaja) sounds unnatural. You could use an indefinite article (una dentista trabaja…) if you meant “a dentist,” but you cannot omit it entirely in this construction.
Why is dentista the same for both a male and a female dentist?
Words ending in -ista (like dentista, periodista, artista) have one form for both genders. The article signals gender: el dentista (male dentist) vs. la dentista (female dentist). The noun itself doesn’t change its ending.
Can I use an indefinite article instead—una dentista trabaja en la clínica—and what’s the difference?
Yes. Una dentista trabaja en la clínica means “a dentist works in the clinic,” implying any dentist. La dentista trabaja en la clínica means “the dentist works in the clinic,” pointing to a specific, known dentist. Choose el/la for “the” (definite) or un/una for “a/an” (indefinite).
Why is the verb trabaja and not trabajan or trabajo?
Trabaja is the third-person singular form of trabajar in the present tense.
• yo trabajo – I work
• tú trabajas – you work (informal)
• él/ella trabaja – he/she works
Since la dentista is “she,” we use trabaja.
Why do we use trabaja en instead of trabaja a or another preposition?
The verb trabajar uses the preposition en to indicate place of work: trabajar en una fábrica, trabajar en casa, trabajar en la clínica. You would use a with motion verbs (like ir a la clínica “to go to the clinic”), but trabajar always pairs with en for “working at/in.”
Why is there still an article in en la clínica? Could I say just en clínica?
In Spanish, prepositions like en almost always require the definite article (el, la, los, las) before a noun unless you’re using a very general expression (en clase, en casa without article because they’re idiomatic). Here, la clínica is a specific place, so you need la: en la clínica (at/in the clinic).
Why does clínica have an accent on the í, but dentista does not?
Spanish accent rules dictate that words stressed on the third-to-last syllable (esdrújulas) always carry a written accent. Clínica is syllabified CLI-NI-CA (stress on CLI, the antepenultimate syllable), so it’s esdrújula and needs ´. Dentista is DEN-TIS-TA, stressed on the penultimate syllable (TIS), and since it ends in a vowel, it follows the default stress rule and needs no accent.
How do I know where to stress trabaja, dentista, and clínica when speaking?
• trabaja – tra-BA-ja (stress on the second syllable; it ends in a vowel, so default penultimate stress)
• dentista – den-TIS-ta (stress on the second syllable; default penultimate stress)
• clínica – CLI-ni-ca (stress on the first/antepenultimate syllable; marked with an accent because it’s esdrújula)
Sometimes en is translated as “in,” sometimes as “at.” Why is en la clínica “at the clinic” here?
Spanish en covers both English “in” and “at,” depending on context. With workplaces, institutions, or businesses, English speakers often say “at.” So trabaja en la clínica translates best as “works at the clinic.” If you want to emphasize “inside,” you could still say “in the clinic,” but “at” is more idiomatic for a place of employment.