Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): El conductor de ese coche es mi vecino.

Because you’re talking about a specific, identifiable person: the driver of that particular car. El conductor = the unique driver in question. Un conductor would mean “a driver,” as if there were several possible drivers of that car or you didn’t know which one—odd in this context.

Can I swap the order and say Mi vecino es el conductor de ese coche?

Yes. Both sentences mean the same.

El conductor de ese coche es mi vecino highlights the driver first.
Mi vecino es el conductor de ese coche highlights the neighbor first. The difference is focus/emphasis, not meaning.

Why is it es and not está?

Use ser (es) for identity/classification: you’re stating who the person is. Estar is for states/locations/conditions. Identity = ser.

What exactly does ese mean in Spain, and how does it compare to este and aquel?

They mark distance:

este: near the speaker (“this”).
ese: near the listener or at medium distance (“that”).
aquel: far from both (“that … over there”). So ese coche is “that car (near you / not right here with me).”

Why is it de ese coche and not del ese coche or de el coche?

de + el contracts to del: e.g., del coche.
With demonstratives (este/ese/aquel), there’s no contraction: de ese, de este, de aquel. So: de ese coche is correct. de el coche is wrong, and del ese coche is also wrong.

Can I drop the article and say Conductor de ese coche es mi vecino?

No. Spanish generally needs the article with a specific singular countable noun in subject position. Keep El conductor…

How does the sentence change if the driver or neighbor is a woman?

Change gendered nouns/adjectives:

Female driver: La conductora de ese coche…
Female neighbor: …es mi vecina. Examples:
La conductora de ese coche es mi vecina.
La conductora de ese coche es mi vecino. (female driver, male neighbor—possible, if that’s the case)

Does mi change with gender or number?

Gender: no.
Number: yes. Singular: mi vecino / mi vecina. Plural: mis vecinos / mis vecinas.

How do I pronounce this in Spain?

coche: CO-che.
conductor: con-duc-TOR (final stress).
vecino: ve-CI-no; the c before i is a “th” sound in most of Spain: ve-THI-no.
ese: E-se. Also, Spanish v sounds like a soft b.

Is there any difference between coche, carro, and auto?

Yes (regional):

Spain: coche is standard.
Much of Latin America: carro or auto. All are understood, but in Spain say coche.

Is conductor the same as chófer?

Not exactly. In Spain, conductor is the general word for “driver.” Chófer tends to mean a hired/professional driver (chauffeur). In much of Latin America, chofer/chófer is common for “driver” in general.

How would I add “who” as in “The driver of that car, who is my neighbor …”?

Use que:

El conductor de ese coche, que es mi vecino, … Note the commas for a non-restrictive clause.

Why use de for possession instead of something like English ’s?

Spanish doesn’t use an apostrophe-s. It uses de:

el conductor de ese coche = “that car’s driver.” This de-phrase is the standard way to show possession or association.

Can I say de aquel coche if the car is far away?

Yes. El conductor de aquel coche es mi vecino = “The driver of that car over there is my neighbor.”

What’s the plural?

Los conductores de esos coches son mis vecinos. Articles, nouns, demonstratives, and the verb all agree in number.

Where does the stress fall? Are there any accent marks I should know about here?

coche: CO-che.
conductor: con-duc-TOR.
vecino: ve-CI-no.
ese: E-se. No written accents are needed in these words. Note that modern Spanish does not put an accent on demonstratives like ese.

Could I use su vecino instead of mi vecino?

You could, but it changes the meaning: su = his/her/their/your (formal) neighbor, and it’s ambiguous without context. mi clearly means “my.”

Is there any difference between ese coche and el coche ese?

Yes. Ese coche is the normal order. El coche ese is colloquial and often adds emphasis or a dismissive/pejorative tone (“that car, you know, that one”).

Can I use desde instead of de (e.g., el conductor desde ese coche)?

No. desde means “from (as a starting point in space/time).” Here you need a possessive/association, so use de: el conductor de ese coche. You’d use desde in sentences like Llamó desde ese coche (“He called from that car”).