Mi papá usa una corbata elegante en la reunión.

My dad wears an elegant tie at the meeting.

Breakdown of Mi papá usa una corbata elegante en la reunión.

• mi: my
• el papá: the dad
• en: at
• una: a
• la reunión: the meeting
• usar: to wear
• la corbata: the tie
• elegante: elegant

Questions & Answers about Mi papá usa una corbata elegante en la reunión.

Why is it mi papá and not mi padre? Do they mean the same thing?

Both mean my father, but they’re used in slightly different ways:

• mi papá – more informal and affectionate, like my dad.
• mi padre – more formal or neutral, like my father.

In Latin America, people normally say mi papá when talking about their own father in everyday conversation, just like English speakers usually say “my dad” rather than “my father” in casual speech.

Why does papá have an accent mark?

The accent mark in papá shows which syllable is stressed.

• Without the accent, by default papa would be stressed on the second-to-last syllable: PA-pa.
• With the accent, papá is stressed on the last syllable: pa-PÁ.

So papá is pronounced pa-PA (like “pah-PAH”), not “PAH-pah.” The accent changes the pronunciation and distinguishes it from other words like papa (potato in some regions, or “Pope” in religious contexts).

Why is it usa and not something like lleva or tiene puesta?

In this sentence:

• usa una corbata literally means he uses a tie, but in Spanish this is a common way to say he wears a tie.

  Other options are also possible:

• lleva una corbata elegante – he is wearing / has on an elegant tie.
• tiene puesta una corbata elegante – he has an elegant tie on.

All three can be correct. Usar with clothing is common in Latin America and perfectly natural:
Mi papá usa lentes. – My dad wears glasses.
Ella usa vestidos largos. – She wears long dresses.

Why is it usa and not usaN?

The verb must match the subject:

• Mi papá = he (third person singular).
• The present tense of usar for él / ella is usa.

Conjugation (present tense of usar):

• yo uso
• tú usas
• él / ella / usted usa
• nosotros usamos
• ustedes / ellos / ellas usan

Since mi papá is one person, you use usa, not usan.

Could I say Él usa una corbata elegante en la reunión instead of Mi papá usa…?

Yes, grammatically it’s correct:

• Mi papá usa una corbata elegante en la reunión.
• Él usa una corbata elegante en la reunión.

Spanish usually drops the subject pronoun (yo, tú, él, etc.) because the verb ending already shows who the subject is. When you say mi papá, you normally don’t repeat with él, unless you want to emphasize:

• Mi papá, él usa una corbata elegante… (emphasis or contrast).

Why is it una corbata and not la corbata?

• una corbata elegante = an elegant tie (one, not previously identified).
• la corbata elegante = the elegant tie (a specific one you and the listener already know about).

In your sentence, we’re just describing what he is wearing in general, so the indefinite article (una) is more natural, just like in English: “My dad wears an elegant tie at the meeting.”

Could you also say usa corbata elegante without una?

Yes, and it changes the meaning slightly:

• Mi papá usa una corbata elegante en la reunión.
  = He is wearing an elegant tie (one tie, focusing on that specific item).

• Mi papá usa corbata elegante en la reunión.
  = He wears elegant ties / he wears elegant ties in general at the meeting (sounds more like a general habit or dress code).

Without the article, it’s more like talking about style or type, not a specific single tie.

Why is the adjective after the noun: corbata elegante instead of elegante corbata?

The normal word order in Spanish is:

• noun + adjective

So:

• corbata elegante = elegant tie
• casa grande = big house
• camisa blanca = white shirt

Putting the adjective before the noun is possible but tends to:

• sound more poetic, literary, or stylistic, or
• sometimes slightly change the nuance.

Elegante corbata is grammatically possible but sounds marked or poetic. In normal speech you say una corbata elegante.

Why doesn’t elegante change form? Shouldn’t it be something like eleganta for corbata (feminine)?

Adjectives ending in -e usually do not change for masculine vs. feminine:

• un chico inteligente / una chica inteligente
• un sombrero verde / una camisa verde
• un perro elegante / una corbata elegante

They do change for singular/plural:

• elegante (singular) → elegantes (plural)
  unas corbatas elegantes – some elegant ties

Why is it en la reunión and not a la reunión for “at the meeting”?

English at can map to different Spanish prepositions. In location expressions like this, Spanish usually uses en:

• en la reunión = at the meeting / in the meeting
• en la casa = at home / in the house
• en el trabajo = at work

a la reunión usually indicates movement toward the meeting:

• Voy a la reunión. – I’m going to the meeting.

So:

• en la reunión → location (where he is).
• a la reunión → destination (where he’s going).

Why is it la reunión (feminine) and not el reunión?

In Spanish, most nouns ending in -ión are feminine:

• la reunión – the meeting
• la canción – the song
• la decisión – the decision
• la habitación – the room

So you use la and feminine adjective/article forms with reunión.

Does usa here mean he is wearing the tie right now or that he usually wears an elegant tie to meetings?

The simple present in Spanish (usa) can express:

1. A general habit:

   • Mi papá usa una corbata elegante en la reunión.
     = My dad (usually) wears an elegant tie at the meeting.

2. A current action (especially with time context):

   • Hoy mi papá usa una corbata elegante en la reunión.
     = Today my dad is wearing an elegant tie at the meeting.

To make it clearly “right now” / ongoing, you can use the present progressive:

• Mi papá está usando una corbata elegante en la reunión.
  = My dad is (right now) wearing an elegant tie at the meeting.

In everyday speech, though, usa often covers both meanings, and context clarifies which one you mean.