Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): A veces estudio español durante horas y horas en la biblioteca. - Sometimes I study Spanish for hours and hours at the library.

A veces estudio español durante horas y horas en la biblioteca.

Sometimes I study Spanish for hours and hours at the library.

Breakdown of A veces estudio español durante horas y horas en la biblioteca.

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Questions & Answers about A veces estudio español durante horas y horas en la biblioteca.

Why doesn’t the sentence use the subject pronoun yo? Why is it estudio and not yo estudio?

In Spanish, you usually omit the subject pronoun (yo, tú, él, etc.) when the verb ending already makes it clear who the subject is.

Estudio already shows it’s “I study” because of the -o ending (1st person singular, present).
So A veces estudio español… is completely natural and means “Sometimes I study Spanish…”

You can say Yo estudio español if you want to emphasize “I” (for contrast, like “I study, but my brother doesn’t”), but in neutral sentences, leaving yo out is more common.

Can a veces go in another position, like at the end of the sentence?

Yes. A veces is quite flexible in position, though some options sound more natural than others:

A veces estudio español durante horas y horas en la biblioteca.
→ Very natural; adverbial expression at the beginning.
Estudio español a veces durante horas y horas en la biblioteca.
→ Possible, but the rhythm is a bit odd; not the most natural here.
Estudio español durante horas y horas en la biblioteca a veces.
→ Also possible; puts extra emphasis on “sometimes” at the end.

Most commonly you’ll see a veces at the beginning or before the main verb:

A veces estudio español…
Estudio a veces español… (less common, but grammatical)

Why is it estudio and not estudiar?

Estudiar is the infinitive form (“to study”).
Estudio is the conjugated form for yo in the present tense (“I study”).

In a normal statement with a subject and a verb, you need the conjugated form:

Yo estudio español. → I study Spanish.
Quiero estudiar español. → I want to study Spanish.

In Quiero estudiar español, quiero is conjugated and estudiar stays in the infinitive because it comes after another verb.

Why isn’t there an article before español? Why not el español?

Both can be correct, but they’re used a bit differently:

Estudio español.
→ Talking about the language as a school subject / skill (“I study Spanish”).
Estudio el español.
→ Also correct, but sounds a bit more like you’re referring to the Spanish language as a specific object/topic (more formal or specific context).

In everyday speech when talking about learning the language, Spanish speakers usually drop the article and just say:

Estudio español.
Hablo español.
Enseño español.

Why is español not capitalized like Spanish in English?

In Spanish:

Language names (español, inglés, francés) are not capitalized.
Nationalities (español, mexicano, argentino) are also not capitalized.

So you write:

Hablo español.
Soy español.
Estudio inglés en la escuela.

It’s different from English, where Spanish, English, French are capitalized.

Is español masculine? How can I tell?

Yes, español (the language) is masculine:

el español (the Spanish language)
un libro de español (a Spanish textbook)

Signs it’s masculine:

Ends in -ol, which often takes el (el español, el alcohol, el sol).
The article used with it is el when it appears with an article.

But when you’re just saying estudio español, no article appears, so you don’t see the gender there.

What does durante add? Could I just say …estudio español horas y horas… without it?

You can say:

A veces estudio español horas y horas en la biblioteca.

It’s understandable and many speakers would say it that way.

Durante explicitly marks a duration (“for” a period of time):

durante horas y horas = for hours and hours

It makes the duration idea clearer and is very natural here, but it’s not absolutely required in everyday speech. Both are acceptable.

What’s the point of repeating horas y horas? Is that a grammar rule?

It’s not a rule; it’s a stylistic choice for emphasis.

horas = hours
horas y horas = “hours and hours” → a long time, exaggerated for effect.

Spanish does this repetition a lot for emphasis:

día tras día (day after day)
año tras año (year after year)
lloró y lloró (he/she cried and cried)

So durante horas y horas means something like: for a really long time.

Why is it en la biblioteca and not something like a la biblioteca or por la biblioteca?

Because we’re talking about being inside a place (location), not movement or passing by.

en la biblioteca = in/at the library (location)
a la biblioteca = to the library (movement/destination)
por la biblioteca = around/by the library (passing through, nearby)

The sentence means you study in the library, so en is the correct preposition.

Why is there a la before biblioteca? Why not just en biblioteca?

In Spanish, you normally use a definite article (el, la, los, las) with singular countable nouns like biblioteca unless there’s a special reason not to.

en la biblioteca = in the library (a specific type of place, in general use)
en biblioteca sounds incomplete or like technical/labelling language.

Some nouns can appear without an article in certain set expressions (e.g., en casa, en clase), but biblioteca is not usually one of them, so en la biblioteca is the natural form.

Is biblioteca “library” or “bookstore”? I get confused with librería.

biblioteca = library (place where you borrow/read books, usually free)
librería = bookstore/bookshop (place where you buy books)

This is a classic false friend for English speakers: librería is not “library”; it’s “bookstore.”

So in the sentence, en la biblioteca means “in the library.”

Why is the present tense (estudio) used here instead of something like “I am studying”?

Spanish simple present (estudio) covers:

Habitual actions (like here):
- A veces estudio español… = “Sometimes I study Spanish…”
Actions happening right now in some contexts, especially with adverbs:
- Ahora estudio. = “I’m studying now.”

If you really want to emphasize “right now,” you can use the present progressive:

Estoy estudiando español. = I am studying Spanish (right now).

In your sentence, we’re talking about a habit, so estudio is exactly right.

Could en la biblioteca go somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes, it’s fairly flexible:

A veces estudio español durante horas y horas en la biblioteca. (original)
A veces estudio español en la biblioteca durante horas y horas.
En la biblioteca, a veces estudio español durante horas y horas.

Moving en la biblioteca around changes the rhythm or focus a bit, but all of these are grammatical and understandable. The original order is very natural.

What’s the difference between a veces and muchas veces?

Both talk about frequency, but they’re different:

a veces = sometimes (not very frequently; irregular)
muchas veces = many times / often (quite frequently)

Compare:

A veces estudio español… → Sometimes, not regularly.
Muchas veces estudio español… → I do it often / many times.

So changing a veces to muchas veces changes the meaning of how often you study.

What does the a in a veces mean? Is veces feminine?

Yes, veces is the plural of vez (time/occasion), and vez is feminine:

una vez = one time
dos veces = two times

The a in a veces started as a preposition (“at times”), but a veces is now a fixed expression meaning “sometimes”. You don’t change the a, and you don’t use other prepositions there.

So you just memorize: a veces = sometimes.

Could I say por horas y horas instead of durante horas y horas?

You can hear por horas y horas, but:

durante horas y horas → more neutral and standard for duration (“for hours and hours”).
por horas y horas → also indicates duration, but is less common in this exact phrase and can sound more colloquial/regional depending on the country.

For clear, standard Spanish, durante horas y horas is the better choice here.