Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta. - They talk with their friends at the party.

Emphasize the subject:
- Ellos hablan con sus amigos, no con sus compañeros.
  (“They talk with their friends, not with their classmates.”)
Clarify who “they” is, if context is not clear.

In neutral, everyday speech, Hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta is perfectly natural.

If English says “They are talking…”, why does Spanish use simple present hablan instead of something like están hablando?

Spanish simple present (hablan) is more flexible than English simple present. It can mean:

They speak / they talk (in general, habitually)
They are speaking / they are talking (right now), depending on context

So:

Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta.
can be understood as “They are talking with their friends at the party.” in the right context.

You only need están hablando if you really want to stress that the action is in progress right now or you want to closely mirror English “are talking.”

Can I say Ellos están hablando con sus amigos en la fiesta? How is it different from Ellos hablan…?

Yes, that sentence is correct:

Ellos están hablando con sus amigos en la fiesta.

Difference in nuance:

Ellos hablan…
- Can mean “They talk / speak” (habitually) or “They are talking” (right now).
- More neutral; context decides.
Ellos están hablando…
- Focuses clearly on an action in progress right now.
- Very close to English “They are talking…”

In everyday Latin American Spanish, both forms are used a lot. If you’re describing what is happening at this very moment at a party, están hablando feels a bit more explicitly “right now.”

What exactly does sus mean here? Whose friends are sus amigos?

Sus is a possessive adjective meaning “his / her / its / their / your (formal, plural)”, depending on context.

In isolation, sus amigos could mean:

his friends
her friends
their friends
your friends (speaking to usted or ustedes)

In this specific sentence:

Ellos hablan con sus amigos…
Most naturally: “They talk with their friends…”, because the subject is ellos and we expect the friends to belong to them.

But grammatically, sus amigos is ambiguous; context (or extra words) is what clarifies whose friends they actually are.

How can I make it clear whether sus amigos means “his friends”, “her friends”, or “their friends”?

Spanish often adds a phrase with de (of) to avoid ambiguity. Instead of relying on sus, you can say:

los amigos de él – his friends
los amigos de ella – her friends
los amigos de ellos – their friends (masc./mixed)
los amigos de ellas – their friends (all feminine)
los amigos de usted – your friends (formal singular “you”)
los amigos de ustedes – your friends (formal / plural “you”)

Examples:

Ellos hablan con los amigos de ella en la fiesta.
They talk with her friends at the party.

Often you completely drop “sus” to be clear:

Instead of sus amigos de ella, speakers prefer los amigos de ella.

When do I use amigos vs amigas?

In Spanish, nouns have gender:

amigo / amigos – male friend / male or mixed group of friends
amiga / amigas – female friend / group of only female friends

Rules:

If the group is all female:
- Ellas hablan con sus amigas en la fiesta.
If the group is all male:
- Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta.
If the group is mixed (male + female):
- Spanish defaults to the masculine plural: amigos.

So amigos is the default plural when there is at least one male or when you don’t know the gender composition.

Why is it en la fiesta and not another preposition like a la fiesta or de la fiesta?

The preposition en generally means “in / on / at” and is used to indicate location.

en la fiesta = at the party (or in the party as an event/place)

Other prepositions would change the meaning:

a la fiesta – to the party (direction, movement):
- Van a la fiesta. = They go to the party.
de la fiesta – from / of the party:
- Vuelven de la fiesta. = They return from the party.
- La música de la fiesta. = The music of the party.

Since the sentence describes what they are doing there, you use en la fiesta.

What’s the difference between la fiesta and una fiesta in this sentence?

The article changes how specific the party is:

la fiesta = the party (a specific, known party)
- Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta.
  → They talk with their friends at the (known) party.
una fiesta = a party (any party, not specified)
- Ellos hablan con sus amigos en una fiesta.
  → They talk with their friends at a party (some party, not already identified).

Use la when:

The listener already knows which party you’re talking about, or
It’s unique in that situation (e.g., “the party tonight”).

Use una when:

You mention it for the first time, or
Which party it is doesn’t matter.

Why is it hablar con sus amigos and not hablar a sus amigos?

Both hablar con and hablar a exist, but they have different typical uses.

hablar con alguien – to talk with someone (two-way, conversational)
- Ellos hablan con sus amigos.
  → They are talking with their friends.
hablar a alguien – to speak to someone, often:
- more one‑directional (you speak, they listen), or
- more formal / serious, like a speech, lecture, or scolding:
  - El director habló a los estudiantes.
    The principal spoke to the students.

In casual, social situations like a party, hablar con is by far the most natural choice.

Can I change the word order, or does it have to be Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta?

Spanish word order is relatively flexible, but there is a neutral, most common order:

[Subject] + [Verb] + [Rest of the information]
Ellos (subject) hablan (verb) con sus amigos en la fiesta (rest).

You can move some parts for emphasis or style:

En la fiesta, ellos hablan con sus amigos.
(Emphasis on at the party.)
Ellos, en la fiesta, hablan con sus amigos.
(Stylistic, a bit more marked.)

But some orders would sound strange or confusing, especially for learners, like:

Ellos con sus amigos hablan en la fiesta. (possible, but odd in everyday speech)

For now, it's safest to stick close to:

Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta.

How would this sentence look in other common tenses (past, future, etc.)?

Here are some useful variations with the same basic meaning:

Present (now / habit):
- Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta.
  They talk / They are talking…
Preterite (completed past event):
- Ellos hablaron con sus amigos en la fiesta.
  They talked with their friends at the party.
Imperfect (ongoing / repeated past, background):
- Ellos hablaban con sus amigos en la fiesta.
  They were talking / used to talk with their friends at the party.
Future:
- Ellos hablarán con sus amigos en la fiesta.
  They will talk with their friends at the party.
Near future (going to…):
- Ellos van a hablar con sus amigos en la fiesta.
  They are going to talk with their friends at the party.
Present progressive (action in progress):
- Ellos están hablando con sus amigos en la fiesta.
  They are talking with their friends at the party (right now).

How is Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta pronounced in Latin American Spanish?

A general Latin American pronunciation (ignoring regional accents) would be:

Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta
/ˈe.ʝos ˈaβlan kon sus aˈmiɣos en la ˈfjesta/

Approximate breakdown for an English speaker:

Ellos – EH-yos (in many countries like Mexico, Colombia)
- ll and y usually sound like a soft “y” in “yes”.
hablan – AH-blahn
- Initial h is silent.
- Stress on HA: HA-blan.
con – like English “cone” but shorter, kohn.
sus – like “soos” (short u, not “suhs”).
amigos – ah-MEE-gohs
- Stress on MI.
en – like English “en” in “enter”, but shorter.
la – like “la” in “la-la-la”.
fiesta – FYEH-stah
- ie forms one syllable: “fyeh” (like “fi” in “fiancé”).
- Stress on FIE: FIE-sta.

Main stress pattern:
E-llos | HAb-lan | con | sus a-MI-gos | en la FIE-sta.

How do I make this sentence negative or turn it into a question?

1. Negation

Just place no directly before the verb:

Ellos no hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta.
They do not talk / are not talking with their friends at the party.

2. Yes–no questions

You can normally keep word order and change intonation (and add ¿ ?):

¿Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta?
Are they talking with their friends at the party?

Or invert subject and verb (common in writing, formal speech):

¿Hablan ellos con sus amigos en la fiesta?

Both are correct. In everyday Latin American Spanish, keeping the usual order and using question intonation is very common:

¿Ellos hablan con sus amigos en la fiesta?