El profesor prohíbe usar el celular en la clase.
The teacher prohibits using the cell phone in class.
Breakdown of El profesor prohíbe usar el celular en la clase.
usar
to use
en
in
el profesor
the teacher
la clase
Questions & Answers about El profesor prohíbe usar el celular en la clase.
Why is the verb prohíbe followed directly by the infinitive usar instead of a subordinate clause with que plus the subjunctive?
Spanish allows two main structures with prohibir:
- Prohibir + infinitive when the subject of both the main verb and the action is the same.
Example: El profesor prohíbe usar el celular → the professor (same subject) forbids using the phone. - Prohibir + que + subjunctive when the subject of the forbidden action is different from the subject of prohibir.
Example: El profesor prohíbe que los estudiantes usen el celular → the professor forbids that the students use the phone (change of subject).
Why does prohíbe have an accent on the í?
The accent on prohíbe marks where the stress falls. In Spanish, monosyllabic or regular penultimate-stress verbs don’t need accents, but prohíbe is an irregular form of prohibir (third person singular present). Without the accent it would be pronounced wrong (pro-HI-beh vs. pro-HEE-beh). The written accent forces the correct stress on the syllable hí.
When do we use the definite article el before celular? Could we say usar celular instead of usar el celular?