Ellos compran frutas frescas en el mercado.

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Breakdown of Ellos compran frutas frescas en el mercado.

• la fruta: the fruit
• fresco: fresh
• el mercado: the market
• comprar: to buy
• ellos: they

Questions & Answers about Ellos compran frutas frescas en el mercado.

Why do we have to use ellos if the verb form compran already indicates they?

In Spanish, the verb form compran indeed reveals the subject is third-person plural. However, using ellos can add clarity, emphasis, or prevent confusion when the subject isn’t obvious from context. In everyday speech, Spanish speakers often drop the subject pronoun if it’s clear who’s doing the action.

Why is the verb compran in the present tense and not something else?

Compran is the present indicative form of comprar for ellos/ellas/ustedes. It indicates a habitual or current action—so this sentence means they regularly or currently buy fresh fruit at the market. If you wanted to say they are buying right now, you could use están comprando, which is the present progressive.

Why does frutas frescas agree in number and gender?

Spanish requires that adjectives match the gender and number of the nouns they describe.
• Frutas is feminine and plural.
• Therefore, frescas is also feminine and plural to match frutas.

Do we always need en for “at” when saying where someone buys something?

In Spanish, en can mean “in,” “on,” or “at,” depending on context. Here, en means “at the market.” Other prepositions exist for specific meanings (e.g., a, de, etc.), but en is correct in this sentence to show the location where the purchase happens.

Could we say Ellos compran frescas frutas or move frescas to another spot?

Typically, adjectives in Spanish follow the noun they modify, so frutas frescas is the standard word order. If you say frescas frutas, it can sound poetic or place unusual emphasis on “fresh.” Standard usage, especially in everyday speech, would be frutas frescas.