Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Visito la heladería con mis amigos cada sábado. - I visit the ice cream shop with my friends every Saturday.

Spanish is a “pro-drop” language, which means the subject pronoun (like yo) can be omitted because the verb ending—here -o in visito—already tells you it’s first person singular. Including yo is grammatically correct (Yo visito…) but often unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis.

Why is the simple present tense (visito) used here instead of a past tense or another form?

In Spanish, the simple present can express habitual or routine actions exactly like in English.
• Visito = “I visit” or “I go visit” regularly.
• A past tense (preterite: visité) would imply you went on a single occasion, not every Saturday.

Why does the sentence use visito (from visitar) instead of voy a (from ir a)?

• Visitar literally means “to visit” (someone or someplace).
• Ir a means “to go to” somewhere.
For everyday routines like grabbing ice cream, most native speakers say voy a la heladería (“I go to the ice cream shop”). Using visito is perfectly correct, but it puts a bit more focus on the act of visiting the establishment itself.

Why do we need la before heladería? In English I might say “I go to ice cream shop.”

Spanish generally requires the definite article before singular, countable nouns when speaking in general:
• la heladería = “the ice cream shop”
English sometimes drops “the,” but Spanish keeps it.

What does the suffix -ería in heladería mean?

The suffix -ería forms feminine nouns indicating a shop or place where something is sold or made. Examples:
• panadería (bakery)
• cafetería (coffee shop)
• librería (bookstore)

Why is there an accent on the í in heladería?

Spanish accent marks indicate an irregular stress.
• Without the accent, stress would default to the second-to-last syllable (he-la-de-ra-́ia?).
• The written accent on í forces the stress to fall: he-la-de-rí-a.

Why is sábado not capitalized?

In Spanish, days of the week (and months) are not capitalized unless they start a sentence.

Why is it cada sábado with sábado in the singular? Can’t it be plural?

After cada you always use a singular noun.
• cada sábado = “every Saturday”
You cannot say cada sábados.

Could I use los sábados instead of cada sábado?

Yes. Los sábados (“on Saturdays”) also expresses a habitual action.
• Visito la heladería con mis amigos los sábados.
Both mean “every Saturday,” though cada sábado emphasizes each individual Saturday.

When do I need the preposition a after visitar (as in visitar a mis amigos)?

Spanish uses the “personal a” when the direct object is a person or a beloved animal:
• Visito a mis amigos. (“I visit my friends.”)
But for places or things, no a is used:
• Visito la heladería.

Why is it con mis amigos and not just mis amigos?

To say “with someone,” Spanish always uses the preposition con:
• con mis amigos = “with my friends.”
There is no alternative preposition in this context.

Can I move cada sábado (the time phrase) to the front of the sentence?

Absolutely. Spanish word order is flexible. You can say:
• Cada sábado (or Los sábados), visito la heladería con mis amigos.
This simply puts extra emphasis on when you go.