Breakdown of El jueves limpio la cocina con un paño suave antes de estudiar español.
la cocina
the kitchen
yo
I
con
with
de
of
español
Spanish
estudiar
to study
antes
before
limpiar
to clean
un
a
el paño
the cloth
suave
soft
el jueves
the Thursday
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Questions & Answers about El jueves limpio la cocina con un paño suave antes de estudiar español.
Why isn’t the subject pronoun yo included before limpio?
In Spanish, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already indicates who is performing the action. Here, limpio ends in -o, so it clearly means “I clean” or “I will clean.” Adding yo is grammatically correct (Yo limpio), but it’s redundant unless you want to add emphasis.
Why does the sentence use El jueves instead of Los jueves?
El jueves refers to a specific Thursday (for example, this coming Thursday). In contrast, los jueves means “on Thursdays” in general (i.e., every Thursday). Context tells you whether it’s a one-time plan or a recurring event.
How can the present tense limpio refer to a future event?
Spanish often uses the simple present to talk about scheduled or planned actions in the near future, especially when paired with a time expression. So El jueves limpio la cocina can mean “This Thursday I’ll clean the kitchen,” much like saying “I fly to Mexico tomorrow.”
How do I know limpio is a verb here and not the adjective “clean”?
Look at the sentence structure: limpio is directly followed by the object la cocina. If it were an adjective, you’d need a form of estar or ser (e.g., La cocina está limpia). Because there’s no linking verb and there’s a direct object, limpio must be the verb “I clean.”
Why is the adjective suave placed after un paño? Could I say un suave paño?
The normal order in Spanish is noun + adjective, so un paño suave is standard. You could say un suave paño for stylistic reasons or emphasis (poetic feel), but everyday speech and writing favor un paño suave.
Does suave change for gender or number? Should I ever write suavo?
Suave does not change for gender—it stays suave for both masculine and feminine. It does change for number: singular suave, plural suaves. You would never write suavo.
Why is con used in con un paño suave?
The preposition con means “with” and indicates the instrument or tool used to perform an action. In English you say “clean with a soft cloth,” and in Spanish you use con un paño suave to express that same idea.
In antes de estudiar español, why do we have de plus an infinitive?
After antes, Spanish requires de when it’s followed by an infinitive. This structure—antes de + infinitive—is equivalent to “before + gerund/infinitive” in English. It links the prior action (“cleaning”) to the following one (“studying Spanish”).