El audioprotesista calibra el audífono.

Questions & Answers about El audioprotesista calibra el audífono.

Why is el used before both audioprotesista and audífono?

Because both nouns are singular, and in this sentence they are treated as masculine nouns.

  • el audioprotesista = the specialist
  • el audífono = the hearing aid

Spanish uses articles very regularly, often more than English does. So having el before both nouns is completely normal.

Also, audioprotesista is one of those profession words that can be masculine or feminine depending on the article:

  • el audioprotesista = a male specialist
  • la audioprotesista = a female specialist
Why is the verb calibra?

Calibra is the third-person singular present tense form of calibrar.

The subject is el audioprotesista, which is he / the specialist, so the verb must match that subject:

  • yo calibro = I calibrate
  • tú calibras = you calibrate
  • él/ella calibra = he/she calibrates

So El audioprotesista calibra... means the subject is doing the action in the present.

I learned that professions often appear without an article. Why do we have el audioprotesista here?

Good question. In Spanish, professions often appear without an article when they come after ser:

  • Es audioprotesista. = He/She is a hearing-aid specialist.

But here, audioprotesista is not being used after ser. It is the subject of the sentence, so using the article is normal:

  • El audioprotesista calibra el audífono.

So the difference is grammatical function, not just the word itself.

Can audioprotesista refer to a woman too?

Yes. Audioprotesista is a profession noun ending in -ista, and many -ista nouns are the same for both genders.

The article tells you whether the person is male or female:

  • el audioprotesista = the male specialist
  • la audioprotesista = the female specialist

The noun itself does not usually change.

Why is there no personal a before el audífono?

Because el audífono is a thing, not a person.

Spanish uses the personal a before a specific person (or sometimes a personified animal/pet) when that person is the direct object:

  • Veo a María.
  • Escucho al médico.

But with objects or things, you do not use that a:

  • Calibra el audífono.
  • Compra el aparato.

So el audífono appears directly, with no extra a.

Why does audífono have an accent mark?

Because the stress falls on dí: au-DÍ-fo-no.

This is an esdrújula word, meaning the stress is on the third-to-last syllable. In Spanish, all esdrújula words always have a written accent.

So:

  • audífono ✓
  • stress on dí

The accent mark tells you exactly where to stress the word.

How is this sentence pronounced in Spain?

A rough pronunciation guide is:

el ow-dyoh-proh-teh-SEES-tah kah-LEE-brah el ow-DEE-foh-noh

A few helpful notes:

  • audioprotesista is stressed on sis: au-dio-pro-te-SIS-ta
  • calibra is stressed on li: ca-LI-bra
  • audífono is stressed on dí: au-DÍ-fo-no
  • the r in calibra is a light Spanish tap, not a strong English r
Can the subject be omitted in Spanish here?

A subject pronoun can often be omitted in Spanish, but a full noun subject like el audioprotesista is different.

You could say:

  • Calibra el audífono.

But then the sentence just means He/She calibrates the hearing aid or Calibrate the hearing aid, depending on context and intonation. You lose the explicit noun the specialist.

So if you want to clearly say who does the action, keeping el audioprotesista is the normal choice.

Does calibra mean is calibrating or just calibrates?

It can mean either one, depending on context.

The Spanish simple present often covers both:

  • a general/habitual action: calibrates
  • an action happening now: is calibrating

So El audioprotesista calibra el audífono could mean:

  • the specialist calibrates the hearing aid
  • the specialist is calibrating the hearing aid

If you want to make the ongoing action very explicit, Spanish can also use:

  • El audioprotesista está calibrando el audífono.
What would the plural version be?

The plural would be:

Los audioprotesistas calibran los audífonos.

Changes:

  • el → los
  • audioprotesista → audioprotesistas
  • calibra → calibran
  • audífono → audífonos

So both the nouns and the verb change to match the plural subject.

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