Al mediodía, mi hermano y yo vamos al mercado.

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Breakdown of Al mediodía, mi hermano y yo vamos al mercado.

• mi: my
• nosotros: we
• ir: to go
• y: and
• el mercado: the market
• el hermano: the brother
• el mediodía: the midday

Questions & Answers about Al mediodía, mi hermano y yo vamos al mercado.

Why do we say al mediodía instead of just a mediodía?

In Spanish, a + el (to + the) contracts into al, so a (to) plus el mediodía (the midday) becomes al mediodía. This contraction is required whenever a is followed directly by the masculine article el.

Why do we use the present tense vamos when talking about a future action at midday?

Spanish often uses the simple present tense to talk about near-future plans, especially when a specific time or context is clear from the sentence. Saying mi hermano y yo vamos al mercado is perfectly natural to indicate a planned activity occurring around midday.

Why is it mi hermano y yo instead of yo y mi hermano?

In Spanish, it's common to list oneself last in a group out of courtesy, so mi hermano y yo sounds more natural. Grammatically, both orders are correct; it's just a matter of typical usage and politeness.

What does al mercado specifically mean?

When you say al mercado, it literally comes from a + el mercado and means to the market. The contraction al is used instead of a el whenever you are referring to a masculine singular noun.

Could we say vamos para el mercado instead of vamos al mercado?

You might hear para in some regions or contexts to emphasize the purpose or final destination, but in Spain, ir a + place (vamos al mercado) is the standard formulation. Para can be understood as for or towards, while a is more directly to a location. Both can be correct depending on context, but al mercado is the most straightforward and common choice.