La dama abrió la puerta.

The lady opened the door.

Breakdown of La dama abrió la puerta.

• abrir: to open
• la puerta: the door
• la dama: the lady

Questions & Answers about La dama abrió la puerta.

Why do both dama and puerta use la?

Because both nouns are singular feminine.

In Spanish, the definite article agrees with the noun in gender and number:

• la dama = the lady
• la puerta = the door

If the noun were masculine singular, you would usually use el. If it were feminine plural, you would use las.

Is dama a common word in Spain?

It is perfectly understandable, but in modern everyday Spanish in Spain, dama can sound a bit formal, refined, literary, or old-fashioned, depending on context.

More everyday possibilities are:

• mujer = woman
• señora = lady / madam / adult woman, often polite

So La dama abrió la puerta is grammatically fine, but the choice of dama gives the sentence a slightly elegant tone.

What verb form is abrió?

Abrió is the third-person singular preterite of abrir.

That means it is used for a completed action in the past:

• abrir = to open
• abrió = opened

In this sentence, it tells you that the action happened and is finished.

Why does abrió have an accent mark?