Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Ella ha estado trapeando la cocina; además ha usado la escoba. - She has been mopping the kitchen; besides, she has used the broom.

It’s the present perfect progressive: present haber (ha) + past participle (estado) + gerund (trapeando). It usually means she has been doing this recently or over a period that reaches up to now, emphasizing duration or ongoing/repeated activity with present relevance.

How is ha estado trapeando different from ha trapeado?

Ha estado trapeando highlights the process or duration (has been mopping).
Ha trapeado highlights the completed result (has mopped). In many parts of Latin America, people often prefer a simple preterite for a finished action today: trapeó la cocina.

Could I use the preterite instead? For example, what would be a natural Latin American alternative?

Yes. A very typical Latin American choice is:

Estuvo trapeando la cocina; además usó la escoba. (She was mopping the kitchen; she also used the broom.) Or, focusing on completed actions:
Trapeó la cocina; además barrió.

Why are both haber and estar used in ha estado trapeando?

Haber is the auxiliary that forms perfect tenses (ha).
Estar forms progressives with a gerund (estado trapeando). Together they make the perfect progressive, mirroring English has been doing.

Is it necessary to say Ella, or can I drop the subject pronoun?

You can drop it: Ha estado trapeando la cocina; además ha usado la escoba. Spanish normally omits subject pronouns unless you want to emphasize or clarify who you mean.

Does trapear mean mop everywhere? Are there regional alternatives?

In much of Latin America, trapear is the standard verb for mopping.
Spain: more common is fregar el suelo or pasar la fregona.
Caribbean and some areas: you may hear mopear or mapear (colloquial/regional).
Argentina/Uruguay: also pasar el lampazo. All are understandable regionally, but trapear is a safe Latin American choice.

Is ha usado la escoba idiomatic, or should I use a verb like barrer?

It’s understandable and fine, but the more idiomatic way to express the action is:

Ha barrido (she has swept), or
Barrió in much of Latin America. You can also say usó la escoba when you literally mean she used the broom as a tool, without focusing on the action of sweeping.

Why is it la escoba and not just escoba?

Spanish typically uses an article with countable nouns. If you mean a specific broom, la escoba; if you mean any broom, una escoba. If you want to stress the instrument, you can also say barrió con la escoba (swept with the broom).

What does además add here? Could I use también?

Además means in addition or moreover; it adds an extra point with a slight sense of accumulation or emphasis. También simply means also and is a bit lighter. All are valid:

Además, ha usado la escoba.
También ha usado la escoba.
Y además ha usado la escoba (more emphatic).

Is the semicolon before además okay in Spanish?

Yes. A semicolon is fine to link closely related independent clauses. You could also write a period: Ella ha estado trapeando la cocina. Además, ha usado la escoba. A comma is less ideal here unless you add a coordinating conjunction: ..., y además, ...

Where can además go in the sentence?

Several options are natural:

Además, ha usado la escoba. (sentence-initial, with comma)
Ha usado además la escoba. (mid-position, a bit formal)
Ha usado la escoba, además. (end-position, more colloquial in speech)

Does además need an accent?

Yes, además always carries an accent on the last syllable (más). It’s pronounced a-de-MÁS.

Why doesn’t usado agree with ella? Shouldn’t it be feminine?

Past participles used with haber are invariable. So it’s always ha usado, han usado, etc., regardless of gender or number. The participle only agrees when it’s an adjective: una escoba usada.

How would I say she has been mopping for two hours?

Ha estado trapeando la cocina por dos horas. Even more idiomatic:
Lleva dos horas trapeando la cocina.
Trapea la cocina desde hace dos horas.

Is cocina the kitchen room or the stove?

Context decides. La cocina can mean the room or the appliance. With trapear, it clearly refers to the room’s floor. To remove any ambiguity, you could say el piso de la cocina or el suelo de la cocina.

Should I use piso or suelo for floor?

Latin America: piso is very common for floor.
Spain: suelo is the default for floor; piso often means apartment or storey. So in Latin America: trapear el piso; in Spain: fregar el suelo.

How do I place object pronouns with perfect and with the progressive?

With perfect, pronouns go before haber: La ha usado (she has used it).
With perfect progressive, both are correct:
- Before the auxiliary: La ha estado usando.
- Attached to the gerund: Ha estado usándola. When attaching to the gerund, add the written accent: usándola.

Could I just say Está trapeando la cocina?

Yes, that’s the present progressive (she is mopping right now). It focuses on what’s happening at this moment, rather than an activity extending into the recent past.

Any spelling or conjugation pitfalls with trapear?

Infinitive: trapear.
Gerund: trapeando (no accent).
First-person preterite: trapeé (note the accent).
Present yo form: trapeo. It’s a regular -ar verb.

Is there a more concise way to say she both mopped and swept?

Yes:

Trapeó y barrió la cocina. Or with present perfect:
Ha trapeado y ha barrido la cocina.

Is the H in ha pronounced? How about initial E in escoba?

Ha: the H is silent; it sounds like a.
Escoba: Spanish doesn’t allow initial S + consonant without a vowel in front, so it’s pronounced es-CO-ba.