Breakdown of Mi hermano comparte fotos en la red social.
Questions & Answers about Mi hermano comparte fotos en la red social.
Comparte is the verb compartir (to share) conjugated in the present tense, third person singular.
- Mi hermano = he (third person singular)
- Present tense of compartir:
- yo comparto – I share
- tú compartes – you share
- él/ella/usted comparte – he/she/you (formal) share
- nosotros compartimos
- ustedes comparten
- ellos/ellas comparten
So with mi hermano (my brother), you must use comparte:
Mi hermano comparte fotos... = My brother shares photos...
Yes, that sentence is correct too, but there is a nuance:
Mi hermano comparte fotos en la red social
= He regularly / usually shares photos on social media (a habit or general fact).Mi hermano está compartiendo fotos en la red social
= He is (right now / these days) sharing photos on social media (ongoing action, more temporary).
In Latin American Spanish, the simple present (comparte) is very common for habits and general truths, similar to English. The present progressive (está compartiendo) focuses more on an action in progress.
Spanish can omit an article when talking about something in a general, non-specific way:
- Mi hermano comparte fotos
= My brother shares photos (in general, no specific photos are identified).
If you say:
- Mi hermano comparte unas fotos
= My brother shares some (particular) photos (usually specific ones in a context). - Mi hermano comparte las fotos
= My brother shares the photos (the listener already knows which photos).
In your sentence, the idea is general: he shares photos as an activity, so no article is the most natural.
Spanish uses two different ideas here:
- la red social = a social network / a social media platform (one network)
- las redes sociales = social media (as a general concept)
Your sentence:
- Mi hermano comparte fotos en la red social.
Literally: My brother shares photos on the social network.
This sounds like you’re talking about one specific platform (for example, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) that is already known in the context.
If you want to talk about social media in general, a very common Latin American way to say it is:
- Mi hermano comparte fotos en las redes sociales.
= My brother shares photos on social media (in general).
In Spanish, en is the normal preposition for location in space or in an abstract “place”:
- en la casa – in/at the house
- en internet – on the internet
- en la red social – on the social network
Por can sometimes be translated as by / through, and is used for movement or means:
- Hablar por teléfono – to talk on the phone
- Mandar un mensaje por WhatsApp – to send a message by WhatsApp
But for “on social media / on a social network” as a location, en is the standard choice:
compartir fotos en la red social.
Yes, grammatically you can omit the subject, because the verb ending -e in comparte already tells you it’s he/she/usted.
- Comparte fotos en la red social.
= He/She shares photos on social media.
However, without context, we don’t know who the subject is. In real conversation, you’d only drop mi hermano if it’s already obvious who you’re talking about. For example:
- A: ¿Qué hace tu hermano en su tiempo libre?
- B: Comparte fotos en la red social.
Mi does not change with gender; it only changes with number:
- mi hermano – my brother
- mi hermana – my sister
- mis hermanos – my brothers / my siblings
- mis hermanas – my sisters
The word that changes for gender is the noun itself (hermano / hermana), not the possessive mi / mis.
No. The gender of hermano depends on the person you’re talking about, not on the speaker.
- If you’re talking about a male sibling: mi hermano, no matter who is speaking.
- If you’re talking about a female sibling: mi hermana, again regardless of who is speaking.
So a woman saying “my brother” in Spanish still says mi hermano.
Foto is simply a shortened form of fotografía, and it’s much more common in everyday speech:
- foto(s) – casual, very frequent
- fotografía(s) – a bit more formal or technical
In this sentence:
- Mi hermano comparte fotos...
is the most natural and common way to say it in Latin American Spanish. Using fotografías would sound more formal or perhaps like a photography context (exhibition, professional work, etc.), but it is still correct.
The personal a is used in Spanish mainly before direct objects that are people, pets (treated like people), or personified things:
- Veo a mi hermano. – I see my brother.
- Buscan a María. – They are looking for María.
Fotos are things, not people, so we do not use the personal a:
- Mi hermano comparte fotos. ✅
- Mi hermano comparte a fotos. ❌ (incorrect)
Yes, Spanish word order is fairly flexible. All of these are grammatically correct, just with slightly different emphasis:
Mi hermano comparte fotos en la red social.
Neutral order, very natural.En la red social, mi hermano comparte fotos.
Emphasizes on the social network as the context.Mi hermano, en la red social, comparte fotos.
Adds en la red social as an inserted clarification; sounds a bit more written or careful.
The first one is the most common everyday version.
Some tips:
red
- The r is a single flap (like a quick American English tt in butter).
- The e is like e in bed.
- The d at the end is often softened and can sound almost like th in this, or be very light; in casual speech it may be barely pronounced.
social
- so- like so in English, but shorter.
- -cial: in Latin America, ci is pronounced like s, so it’s roughly so-SYAL, with the main stress on -cial.
Together: red so-CIAL, with a light final d or almost none, depending on the region.