Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): El jugador entrena cada día antes del partido importante. - The player trains every day before the important match.

The word día has a written accent because it’s a hiato (two strong vowels, í and a, each forming its own syllable: dí-a). Spanish orthography requires the accent to show where the stress falls and to signal that these vowels don’t form a single diphthong.

Why is entrena used here? What tense and person is it?

entrena is the present-tense, third-person singular form of entrenar (to train). In this sentence it means “he trains” or “the player trains” and describes a habitual action.

Why is there no él before entrena?

Spanish is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns like él (“he”) are often omitted because the verb ending (-a in entrena) already tells you who the subject is. You’d only include él for emphasis or contrast.

What does antes del mean and why can’t it be de el?

antes del literally means “before the.” It comes from antes de + el, and in Spanish you must contract de + el into del. Writing antes de el is grammatically incorrect (except in very rare proper-name cases).

Why is importante placed after partido? Can I move it?

In neutral Spanish, descriptive adjectives like importante usually follow the noun (partido importante). You can say el importante partido, but that order often sounds more formal, poetic, or emphatic.

Is there a difference between cada día and todos los días?

Both mean “every day.” cada día literally is “each day” (singular), while todos los días is “all the days” (plural). In practice they’re interchangeable, though cada día can feel a bit more individual-oriented (“he wakes up each day”).

Why is día singular in cada día instead of plural?

The determinative cada always pairs with a singular noun (just like English “each”), so it’s cada día, not cada días.

Why is the word partido used for “match” and not juego?

In team sports (soccer, basketball, etc.) Spanish speakers say partido for “match.” Juego is a more general term for any “game” (board games, video games, or the concept of playing). In athletics, partido is the standard.