Breakdown of El atleta corre rápido en el parque.
en
in
correr
to run
el parque
the park
rápido
fast
el atleta
the athlete
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Questions & Answers about El atleta corre rápido en el parque.
What is the subject of the sentence El atleta corre rápido en el parque?
The subject is el atleta. It’s the noun phrase that performs the action “runs.”
Why is the definite article el used before atleta, and how is it different from the pronoun él?
Here, el is the masculine singular definite article meaning “the,” required before common nouns. It is not the pronoun él (“he”), which always carries an accent and doesn’t precede another noun.
Why doesn’t this sentence use a subject pronoun like él corre?
In Spanish, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb conjugation (here corre) already indicates third person singular. Adding él (as in Él corre rápido…) is grammatically correct but redundant and typically used only for emphasis.
Why is the verb corre in the simple present, and could we use a continuous form instead?
The simple present (corre) serves for both habitual and ongoing actions in Spanish. You can express a running-in-progress more explicitly with the present continuous:
El atleta está corriendo rápido en el parque.
Is rápido functioning as an adjective or an adverb here, and why is it not rápidamente?
In this case, rápido acts as an adverb modifying the verb corre (an adverb of manner). Spanish often uses the adjective form as an adverb in everyday speech. The more formal adverbial ending -mente would give rápidamente, but rápido is perfectly natural and more colloquial.
Does rápido change form if the athlete is female or if there are multiple athletes?
No. Since rápido is used as an adverb here, it never agrees in gender or number. Even with a female athlete you’d say:
La atleta corre rápido en el parque.
Why does rápido carry an accent on the first syllable?
Rápido has three syllables (rá-pi-do) and is stressed on the antepenult. Spanish spelling rules require a written accent on words stressed on the antepenultimate syllable.
Why is the phrase en el parque used instead of a el parque or dropping the article?
En means “in” or “within,” indicating location. The definite article el is mandatory before parque as it’s a common noun. If you used a el (contracted to al parque) it would mean “to the park” (direction), not “in the park.”
Could we place the subject after the verb—Corre el atleta rápido en el parque—and would that change the meaning?
Yes. Spanish word order is flexible. Corre el atleta rápido en el parque is grammatically fine. Putting the verb first adds a bit of stylistic emphasis or a more formal tone, but the essential meaning remains unchanged.