Normalmente uso un lápiz, pero también tengo bolígrafos de muchos colores en mi mochila.

Normally I use a pencil, but I also have pens of many colors in my backpack.

Breakdown of Normalmente uso un lápiz, pero también tengo bolígrafos de muchos colores en mi mochila.

• yo: I
• tener: to have
• un: a
• en: in
• mi: my
• pero: but
• también: also
• normalmente: normally
• el lápiz: the pencil
• la mochila: the backpack
• usar: to use
• el bolígrafo: the pen
• de: of
• mucho: many
• el color: the color

Questions & Answers about Normalmente uso un lápiz, pero también tengo bolígrafos de muchos colores en mi mochila.

Why do we say uso instead of uso with any preposition or extra word?

In Spanish, when talking about what you use on a regular basis, you can simply say uso (from the verb usar). It’s a transitive verb that doesn’t require any additional preposition like to in English.

Is lápiz masculine or feminine, and why do we say un lápiz?

Lápiz is a masculine noun in Spanish, so we use un, the masculine indefinite article. Nouns that end in -z can be either masculine or feminine, but lápiz happens to be masculine by lexical convention.

What is the difference between bolígrafo and pluma in Spanish?

Both words mean pen, but bolígrafo is more commonly used in Spain to refer to a ballpoint pen. Pluma can refer to a fountain pen or be a more generic term for any pen, but in many regions of Spain, bolígrafo is the go-to word.

Why do we use de muchos colores instead of de muchos color?

Since you’re describing many colors, you need the plural form, colores. The phrase de muchos colores literally translates to of many colors. Spanish requires agreement in number and, in this case, colores must match muchos.

Is there a reason why we say en mi mochila instead of a mi mochila?

Yes. In Spanish, en is the preposition that corresponds to in or inside. Since the pens are in your backpack, you use en. The preposition a generally indicates to, at, or toward, which wouldn’t make sense here.