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Un pintor local vende sus cuadros en la feria del pueblo.

Un pintor local vende sus cuadros en la feria del pueblo.
A local painter sells his paintings at the town fair.
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Questions & Answers about Un pintor local vende sus cuadros en la feria del pueblo.

Why is it un pintor local and not local pintor like in English?

In Spanish, most adjectives normally go after the noun:

  • pintor local = local painter

Putting local after pintor is the standard, neutral order.
If you put the adjective before the noun (local pintor), it sounds strange or poetic, not natural everyday Spanish.

So:

  • ✅ un pintor local
  • ❌ un local pintor (incorrect / very unnatural)
Why is it un and not el pintor local?
  • un pintor local = a local painter (you’re introducing him; the listener doesn’t know which one yet)
  • el pintor local = the local painter (a specific painter the listener is expected to recognize)

The sentence is talking about some local painter in general, not “the specific one we both know,” so un (indefinite article) is the natural choice.

Why is it vende and not vender?
  • vender is the infinitive = to sell
  • vende is the 3rd person singular present = he sells / she sells / it sells / you (formal) sell

Here, un pintor local is the subject, so you need the verb conjugated for él/ella (he/she):

  • (Él) vende = he sells

So un pintor local vende = a local painter sells.

Can vende mean both “sells” and “is selling”?

Yes. In Spanish, the simple present often covers both meanings, depending on context:

  • Un pintor local vende sus cuadros…
    • Can mean: A local painter sells his paintings… (habitually)
    • Or: A local painter is selling his paintings… (right now, at the fair)

If you really want to stress “right now,” you can say:

  • Un pintor local está vendiendo sus cuadros en la feria del pueblo.
    = A local painter is selling his paintings at the town fair.
What exactly does cuadros mean here? Why not pinturas?

Both can refer to works of art, but there’s a nuance:

  • cuadro
    • Literally: framed picture / painting (a painting as an object you hang on the wall)
    • Very common for paintings: Los cuadros del museo = the paintings in the museum
  • pintura
    • Can mean paint (the substance) or a painting in a more general sense
    • Sometimes sounds a bit more technical or abstract in this context

For art you hang on the wall, cuadros is extremely natural in Latin American Spanish:

  • vende sus cuadros = he sells his (framed) paintings
Who does sus refer to in sus cuadros?

In Spanish, sus is ambiguous in person but clear in number:

  • Person: could mean his, her, its, their, or your (formal)
  • Number: sus is plural, so it’s “his/her/their/your paintings”

In this sentence, context tells us:

  • Un pintor local vende sus cuadros…
    → sus = his (the painter’s own paintings)

If you needed to be extra clear in another context, you might say sus propios cuadros (his own paintings), but here it’s already obvious.

Why is it sus cuadros and not los cuadros?
  • sus cuadros = his paintings (emphasizes ownership: the painter’s own works)
  • los cuadros = the paintings (could be any paintings, not necessarily his)

The sentence wants to say that he’s selling his own work, not just any paintings, so sus is appropriate.

Why do we use en la feria and not a la feria or por la feria?

Different prepositions give different ideas:

  • en la feria = at the fair / in the fair (location where the action happens)
  • a la feria = to the fair (direction / movement: going to the fair)
  • por la feria = through the fair / around the fair (movement inside/around the fair)

Here we’re talking about where he sells his paintings, not where he goes or moves, so en is correct:

  • vende sus cuadros en la feria = he sells his paintings at the fair
Why is it del pueblo and not de el pueblo?

de + el contracts to del in Spanish:

  • de el pueblo → ❌ (not used)
  • del pueblo → ✅

So:

  • la feria del pueblo = the town fair
    (literally: the fair of the town)
What does pueblo mean here? Town or people?

pueblo has several meanings; context decides:

  1. town / village

    • Very common meaning in Latin America:
    • la feria del pueblo = the town fair or the village fair

  2. people (as in “the people” of a country)

    • la voz del pueblo = the voice of the people

In this sentence, pueblo clearly means town or village, not “people”.

Why is it la feria but el pueblo? How do I know the gender?

In Spanish, every noun has a grammatical gender that you must memorize:

  • la feria → feminine
    • ends in -a, and many -a words are feminine
  • el pueblo → masculine
    • ends in -o, and many -o words are masculine

There are exceptions, but -a → usually feminine, -o → usually masculine is a useful rule of thumb.

How would the sentence change if the painter is a woman?

You only change the noun for the person:

  • Un pintor local vende sus cuadros en la feria del pueblo.
    → male painter
  • Una pintora local vende sus cuadros en la feria del pueblo.
    → female painter

pintor → pintora, and un → una to match the feminine noun. Everything else stays the same.