El pájaro se posa en la ventana.

The bird perches on the window.

Breakdown of El pájaro se posa en la ventana.

• en: on
• la ventana: the window
• el pájaro: the bird
• posarse: to land

Questions & Answers about El pájaro se posa en la ventana.

What exactly does se posa mean, and why is se there?

Posarse is a reflexive verb that, with birds or insects, means “to perch,” “to land,” or “to settle on something.”

• Posar (non‑reflexive) = to pose (for a photo), to place/put something:
  • El fotógrafo posa a los modelos. – The photographer positions the models.
• Posarse (reflexive) = the subject comes to rest on something:
  • El pájaro se posa en la ventana. – The bird perches/lands on the window.

The se tells you that the subject (el pájaro) is doing the action to itself (it comes to rest / settles itself somewhere), which is why se posa is used here instead of just posa.

Why is it El pájaro and not Un pájaro?

Because el is the definite article (“the”), and un is the indefinite article (“a”).

• El pájaro se posa en la ventana.
  → The bird (a specific or previously mentioned bird) perches on the window.
• Un pájaro se posa en la ventana.
  → A bird (some bird, not identified) perches on the window.

Spanish usually mirrors English here:

• Use el when the speaker and listener know which bird is meant or it’s already been introduced.
• Use un when introducing a new, unspecified bird.

Why don’t we say Él pájaro se posa… with the subject pronoun él?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are usually dropped because the verb ending shows who the subject is.

• Se posa is 3rd person singular (he/she/it perches), so el pájaro is clearly the subject.
• Él would mean “he” (a person), not “the bird.”

You only say él if you’re talking about a male person (or occasionally an animal treated like a person):

• Él se posa en la ventana. would be odd here unless you’re anthropomorphizing the bird and have already called it él in context.

So the natural form is simply:

• El pájaro se posa en la ventana.

Why is pájaro masculine? What if the bird is female?

In Spanish, grammatical gender is not always the same as biological gender.

• El pájaro is grammatically masculine by convention.
• This doesn’t automatically say anything about whether the real bird is male or female.

If you need to specify sex, you can say:

• pájaro macho – male bird
• pájaro hembra – female bird

But in most contexts, el pájaro is used regardless of the actual sex of the animal.

Why is it la ventana and not el ventana?

Ventana is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article la:

• la ventana – the window
• una ventana – a window

Many nouns ending in ‑a are feminine (casa, mesa, puerta, ventana), so la is the default article for them. There are exceptions, but ventana follows the regular pattern.

Why do we use en (in/on/at) here and not sobre?

Both en and sobre can sometimes mean “on,” but there’s a nuance:

• en la ventana = on / at / in the window (very common, neutral)
• sobre la ventana = literally “on top of the window” (more physical on‑topness)

For something like a bird perching, en la ventana is the most natural, everyday way to say it.
Sobre la ventana is not wrong, but it sounds more literal, like the bird is on the top surface of the window frame.

Can I say El pájaro está en la ventana instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, but it doesn’t mean exactly the same thing.

• El pájaro se posa en la ventana.
  Focuses on the action of landing/perching. It answers “What is happening / what does the bird do?”
• El pájaro está en la ventana.
  States the location. It answers “Where is the bird (right now)?”

Compare:

• English “The bird lands on the window.” → se posa
• English “The bird is on the window.” → está

So use se posa for the moment of perching, and está for where it is after that action.

Why is the verb posa and not something like posa en la ventana el pájaro? Can the word order change?

The standard, neutral word order is Subject – Verb – Rest of sentence:

• El pájaro (subject) se posa (verb) en la ventana (rest).

You can change the word order, but it usually affects emphasis or sounds poetic:

• Se posa el pájaro en la ventana.
  Possible, but feels more literary or like you’re painting a scene.

For everyday speech and writing, El pájaro se posa en la ventana is the natural order.

How would this sentence look in the past tense?

Most commonly you’d use the preterite to describe a completed action:

• El pájaro se posó en la ventana.
  → The bird landed/perched on the window (at a specific moment).

Other possibilities:

• El pájaro se posaba en la ventana. (imperfect)
  → The bird used to perch on the window / was perching (background, habitual, or ongoing action).
• El pájaro se había posado en la ventana. (past perfect)
  → The bird had perched on the window.

But the simple, “it landed” version is:

• El pájaro se posó en la ventana.

How do I say this in the plural: “The birds perch on the window”?

Just make pájaro and the verb plural:

• Los pájaros se posan en la ventana.
  → The birds perch on the window.

If you mean multiple windows:

• Los pájaros se posan en las ventanas.
  → The birds perch on the windows.

Changes:

• el pájaro → los pájaros
• se posa → se posan
• optionally la ventana → las ventanas if plural.

Is pájaro always the normal word for “bird” in Latin America?

Pájaro is very widely understood and used for “bird,” especially small or medium birds.

A couple of points for Latin America:

• ave is a more formal or technical word (like “avian, fowl”):
  
  • El ave se posa en la ventana. – Correct, sounds more formal/literary.
• In some regions, pájaro can have slang meanings (for example, a vulgar term for a man’s genitals or a derogatory term for a gay man).
  However, in neutral contexts (stories, descriptions of nature), pájaro is perfectly standard.

If you’re unsure in a particular country, ave is always safe and formal, but pájaro is what you’ll usually hear for everyday “bird.”

How do you pronounce pájaro, and what does the accent mark do?

Pájaro is pronounced roughly: PAH‑ha‑roh (Latin American Spanish).

• á shows the stressed syllable:
  • PÁ‑ja‑ro (stress on the first syllable).
• The j = a harsh h sound from the throat (like the “ch” in German Bach or Scottish loch).

Without the accent, the word would be written pajaro, and the stress would normally fall on the second‑to‑last syllable (pa‑JA‑ro), which would be wrong. The accent mark forces the stress onto the first syllable: PÁ‑ja‑ro.