Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mis sandalias están en la entrada; hoy no quiero usar tenis. - My sandals are at the entrance; today I don’t want to wear sneakers.

Estar = current state or location
- Mis sandalias están en la entrada. = My sandals are (located) in the entrance.
Ser = identity, permanent characteristics, origin, definitions, time, etc.
- Mis sandalias son azules. = My sandals are blue.

So you say están en la entrada because you’re saying where they are, not what they are like.

Why is it están (plural) and not está?

The verb must agree in number with the subject.

Subject: Mis sandalias → sandalias is plural (like “sandals” in English).
Therefore you need the plural form of estar: están.

Compare:

Mi sandalia está en la entrada. = My sandal is at the entrance. (singular)
Mis sandalias están en la entrada. = My sandals are at the entrance. (plural)

Why is sandalias feminine? How do I know it’s las sandalias, not los sandalias?

In Spanish, every noun has a grammatical gender, usually masculine or feminine. Many, but not all, nouns that end in -a are feminine.

la sandalia (feminine, singular)
las sandalias (feminine, plural)

Some patterns:

Words ending in -a are often feminine (la casa, la mesa, la sandalia).
There are exceptions (el día, el mapa), so you learn gender together with each noun.

Because sandalia is feminine, you use:

la sandalia / las sandalias
mi sandalia / mis sandalias

Why is it en la entrada and not a la entrada?

En expresses being in/on/at a place (location).
A usually expresses movement towards a place (direction).

Mis sandalias están en la entrada.
→ My sandals are *at/in the entrance.* (location)
Voy a la entrada.
→ I’m going *to the entrance.* (movement/direction)

So for where something is, you use en, not a.

What exactly does la entrada mean here?

La entrada literally means “the entrance”, but in a home context it often refers to the entryway / hallway / foyer—the area by the front door where people might leave shoes, coats, etc.

So Mis sandalias están en la entrada is very naturally understood as:

My sandals are in the entryway / by the door.

Why do we say Mis sandalias and not Las sandalias mías?

Both are possible, but possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su, nuestro, etc.) before the noun are far more common for simple possession.

Mis sandalias = my sandals (normal, neutral)
Las sandalias mías = my sandals (more emphatic or contrastive, like “those sandals of mine”)

Use:

Mis sandalias in almost all everyday contexts.
Las sandalias mías only when you really want to emphasize mine vs someone else’s, or in more literary / expressive style.

Why is the subject “I” not written in hoy no quiero usar tenis?

In Spanish, the subject pronoun (yo, tú, él, etc.) is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

quiero → must be yo (I)
So (Yo) hoy no quiero usar tenis. is normally just Hoy no quiero usar tenis.

You only add yo when you want to emphasize or contrast:

Yo hoy no quiero usar tenis, pero tú sí.
I don’t want to wear sneakers today, but you do.

Can usar mean “to wear”? Why not llevar or ponerse?

Yes, usar can mean “to use” and also “to wear”, especially in many Latin American countries.

All of these are common:

usar tenis – to wear sneakers (literally “to use sneakers”)
llevar tenis – to wear sneakers, to have sneakers on
ponerme tenis – to put sneakers on (focus on the act of putting them on)

Differences in nuance:

usar: wearing/using as a habit or choice
- Hoy no quiero usar tenis. = Today I don’t want to wear sneakers.
llevar: emphasizes having them on you
- Hoy no quiero llevar tenis. = I don’t want to have sneakers on today.
ponerse: the moment of putting them on
- Hoy no me quiero poner tenis. = I don’t want to put sneakers on today.

In many parts of Latin America, usar for clothing and shoes is very normal and natural.

What does tenis mean here? Isn’t that “tennis” (the sport)?

In Latin American Spanish, tenis (as a noun for clothing) usually means “sneakers / tennis shoes”.

So:

usar tenis → to wear sneakers
comprar unos tenis → to buy some sneakers

Context tells you whether it’s the sport or the shoes:

Jugar al tenis = to play tennis (the sport)
Ponerme mis tenis = to put on my sneakers (the shoes)

Why is there no article before tenis? Why not los tenis?

In Spanish, you can often omit the article when talking about clothing or shoes in a general, non-specific way, especially after verbs like usar, llevar, tener, comprar.

Hoy no quiero usar tenis.
= Today I don’t want to wear sneakers (in general).
Hoy no quiero usar los tenis.
= Today I don’t want to wear the sneakers (specific ones we both know about).

So both are grammatically correct; the difference is:

usar tenis → sneakers in general, no specific pair.
usar los tenis → a particular pair of sneakers already known in the conversation.

Can I change the word order hoy no quiero usar tenis? Where can hoy and no go?

Yes, Spanish word order is fairly flexible here. All of these are natural:

Hoy no quiero usar tenis. (very common)
No quiero usar tenis hoy.
Hoy no quiero usar tenis, la verdad. (with a comment added)
No, hoy quiero usar sandalias, no tenis. (in a contrast)

Rules to keep in mind:

no normally goes directly before the conjugated verb:
- no quiero, no uso, no llevo
hoy (like most adverbs of time) can go:
- at the beginning: Hoy no quiero usar tenis.
- at the end: No quiero usar tenis hoy.

Both orders mean the same thing.

Is using a semicolon ( ; ) in Spanish like this natural: Mis sandalias están en la entrada; hoy no quiero usar tenis?

Yes, you can use a semicolon in Spanish much like in English: to separate two closely related independent clauses.

However, in everyday writing, many native speakers would just use a comma or even start a new sentence:

Mis sandalias están en la entrada, hoy no quiero usar tenis.
Mis sandalias están en la entrada. Hoy no quiero usar tenis.

The version with the semicolon is correct and clear, just slightly more formal/punctilious.