La ley prohíbe fumar aquí.

In Spanish, nouns usually need an article more often than in English. La ley means the law. In a general statement like this, Spanish often uses the definite article where English also would: The law prohibits...

If you said just ley by itself, it would usually sound incomplete here.

Prohíbe means prohibits or forbids.

It is the third person singular present tense form of the verb prohibir:

• yo prohíbo = I prohibit
• tú prohíbes = you prohibit
• él/ella/usted prohíbe = he/she/you formal prohibits

Here, the subject is la ley, which is singular, so Spanish uses prohíbe.

The accent mark shows where the stress goes: pro-HÍ-be.

Without the accent, Spanish pronunciation rules would make you stress it differently. The written accent helps you pronounce it correctly and distinguishes the correct verb form.

After verbs like prohibir, Spanish often uses an infinitive to express the action that is prohibited.

So:

• prohíbe fumar = prohibits smoking / prohibits to smoke (though in natural English we say prohibits smoking)

This is very common in Spanish:

• Quiero comer = I want to eat
• Prefiere salir = He/She prefers to go out
• Prohíben aparcar = They prohibit parking

Yes, essentially. In this sentence, fumar is an infinitive, but it works a bit like an English -ing form in meaning.

So prohíbe fumar is best understood as:

• forbids smoking
• prohibits smoking

Spanish often uses the infinitive where English would use a gerund (smoking, eating, parking).

The subject is la ley.

So the structure is:

• La ley = subject
• prohíbe = verb
• fumar = the action being prohibited
• aquí = place adverb, here

In other words: The law prohibits smoking here.

Because Spanish does not need one here. After prohibir, the infinitive can come directly:

• La ley prohíbe fumar aquí.

English may sometimes use a structure like The law prohibits smoking here, but Spanish does not need an extra pronoun or connector.

Aquí means here.

In this sentence, it tells you the location where smoking is prohibited. Its position is very natural at the end:

• La ley prohíbe fumar aquí.

But Spanish word order can be flexible. You could also hear:

• Aquí la ley prohíbe fumar.

That shifts the emphasis slightly toward here.

In Spain, aquí is much more common in standard usage for here.

Very broadly:

• aquí = here
• acá = also here, but more common in many Latin American varieties

A learner focusing on Spanish from Spain should definitely be comfortable with aquí first.

A Spain Spanish pronunciation would be approximately:

la ley pro-EE-beh foo-MAR ah-KEE

A few key points:

• ley sounds roughly like lay
• prohíbe is stressed on hí
• h is silent in Spanish, so prohíbe does not pronounce the h
• fumar is stressed on the last syllable: fu-MAR
• aquí is stressed on the last syllable: a-QUÍ

Often yes, but the structures are not always identical.

In Spanish:

• prohibir + infinitive is very common
  
  • Prohíben entrar. = They forbid entering / Entry is forbidden.
• prohibir algo is also possible
  
  • Prohíben el tabaco en esta zona. = They prohibit tobacco in this area.

So in your sentence, prohíbe fumar is a very standard pattern.

Yes, absolutely. That is one of the most common alternatives.

• La ley prohíbe fumar aquí. = The law prohibits smoking here.
• Está prohibido fumar aquí. = Smoking is prohibited here.

The first explicitly mentions the law.
The second focuses more on the rule or prohibition itself and is very common on signs.

Because the correct spelling is prohíbe with an accent on í.

This is the standard written form of the verb. The accent is not optional; it is part of correct spelling.

Yes, that is often a very natural English translation, depending on context.

Literally, it means:

• The law prohibits smoking here.

But in real-world use, a natural English equivalent could be:

• It’s illegal to smoke here.
• Smoking is prohibited here.

The exact best translation depends on whether you want to keep the explicit idea of the law.

Yes. It sounds formal and legal or regulatory.

Because it uses:

• la ley = the law
• prohíbe = prohibits
• fumar = smoking

It fits legal, administrative, or official contexts very well. In everyday speech, people might more often say:

• No se puede fumar aquí. = You can’t smoke here.
• Está prohibido fumar aquí. = Smoking is prohibited here.