Breakdown of En la biblioteca, muchos estudiantes quieren unirse a nuestro grupo de español.
Questions & Answers about En la biblioteca, muchos estudiantes quieren unirse a nuestro grupo de español.
- En la biblioteca = in the library (location where something happens).
- A la biblioteca = to the library (movement toward the library).
- De la biblioteca = from the library / of the library (origin or possession).
In this sentence, we’re talking about what happens inside the library, so en is the correct preposition.
In Spanish, biblioteca is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article la:
- la biblioteca (feminine)
Compare with a masculine place word: - el museo (masculine)
The article always agrees in gender and number with the noun:
- la biblioteca / las bibliotecas
- el museo / los museos
The comma marks an introductory phrase that sets the scene (place) before the main clause:
- En la biblioteca, muchos estudiantes quieren unirse…
It’s similar to English:
- In the library, many students want to join…
You could write it without the comma in informal writing, but the comma is considered more standard and makes the sentence easier to read.
Estudiante is a word that can be masculine or feminine:
- el estudiante (male student)
- la estudiante (female student)
When talking about a mixed group or about students in general (gender not specified), Spanish uses the masculine plural:
- muchos estudiantes = many students (mixed or unspecified gender)
If you know they are all female, you can say:
- muchas estudiantes
The subject is muchos estudiantes (many students), which is third person plural. The verb must agree with that:
- Él quiere / Ella quiere = he/she wants
- Ellos quieren / Ellas quieren = they want
- Muchos estudiantes quieren = many students want
So quieren is required to match the plural subject.
Querer + infinitive:
The normal structure is querer + infinitive verb:- quieren estudiar (they want to study)
- quieren unirse (they want to join)
Placement of “se”:
With an infinitive, the reflexive pronoun can:- attach to the end of the infinitive: unirse
- or go before the conjugated verb: se quieren unir
So both are correct:
- quieren unirse
- se quieren unir
But quieren se unir (splitting quieren and se incorrectly) is wrong.
Why not just unir?
- unir = to unite / to join something to something else.
- unirse (a) = to join (a group, a team, etc.).
For “join our Spanish group,” you need unirse (a), not just unir.
Unirse is a pronominal verb when it means to join (a group, cause, organization). The se indicates that the subject becomes part of something:
- Los estudiantes se unen al grupo.
The students join the group (they become part of it).
Without se, unir usually means to join/attach things together:
- Unen las mesas. = They join the tables (put them together).
So for join our Spanish group, Spanish uses the pronominal form unirse (a).
The verb unirse normally uses the preposition a for the thing you join:
- unirse a un grupo = join a group
- unirse a una causa = join a cause
- unirse a nosotros = join us
So the correct structure is:
- unirse a nuestro grupo
Unirse nuestro grupo is missing the required preposition a, so it’s incorrect.
Unirse con exists but is more like to unite with in the sense of forming an alliance, not the everyday “join a club/class/group.” For this sentence, a is the natural choice.
You can, but the nuance changes slightly:
- unirse a nuestro grupo = join our group (become a member or part of it).
- juntarse con nuestro grupo = get together / hang out with our group (more like physically gathering or spending time with them).
In the context of a Spanish group (club/class/organization), unirse a nuestro grupo is the most natural way to express “join our group.”
Possessive adjectives in Spanish agree with the noun they modify, not with the owner:
- grupo is masculine singular → nuestro grupo
- grupos is masculine plural → nuestros grupos
- clase is feminine singular → nuestra clase
- clases is feminine plural → nuestras clases
So here:
nuestro (masc. sing.) + grupo (masc. sing.) = nuestro grupo
In Spanish, when you describe what kind of group it is (subject, activity, topic), you often use de + noun without an article:
- grupo de español = Spanish group / Spanish club
- clase de matemáticas = math class
- profesor de inglés = English teacher
Del español (de + el) would sound like “the group of the Spanish (language)” and is not how this type of group is normally named. Grupo de español is the idiomatic pattern.
In Spanish:
- Languages are written with a lowercase initial:
- español, inglés, francés, alemán
- Nationalities and adjectives of nationality are also lowercase:
- español, mexicana, franceses
You only capitalize proper names, like España, México, América Latina.
So grupo de español is correctly written with español in lowercase.
Yes, that’s perfectly correct. Both sentences are grammatical:
En la biblioteca, muchos estudiantes quieren unirse…
- Slight emphasis on the location first: In the library, many students…
Muchos estudiantes en la biblioteca quieren unirse…
- Slight emphasis on the students and then specifies which students (those in the library).
The meaning is essentially the same; it’s just a different focus/order, and both are natural.
- unirse a nuestro grupo = join our group (but we don’t know what kind of group: Spanish, chess, music, etc.).
- unirse a nuestro grupo de español = join our Spanish group (clearly a group related to the Spanish language).
So de español gives you the specific type of group. Without it, it’s more general or ambiguous.
- biblioteca = library (place where you borrow or study books, usually free).
- librería = bookstore / bookshop (place where you buy books).
English speakers often mix them up because “library” and “librería” look similar, but in Spanish, they are clearly different. In this sentence, En la biblioteca means In the library, not in a bookstore.