Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): El aparcamiento del centro es caro, pero el garaje de mi amiga es gratis. - The parking in the center is expensive, but my friend’s garage is free.

Correct: del centro
Not contracted with feminine/plural: de la ciudad, de los barrios, de las afueras
Do not contract with the pronoun él (him): de él
Related: a + el → al (e.g., al centro)

Could I say en el centro instead of del centro?

Yes. Both are natural, with a small nuance:

El aparcamiento del centro es caro = parking belonging to/typical of the city centre area (category).
El aparcamiento en el centro es caro = parking located in the city centre (explicit location). Both are fine in Spain. For clarity you can also say del centro de la ciudad.

Does centro here mean the city centre or a shopping mall?

In Spain, el centro on its own usually means the city centre/downtown. For a mall you say centro comercial. So:

What’s the difference between aparcamiento, estacionamiento, and parking?

Aparcamiento: the standard word in Spain for parking (both the facility and the concept).
Estacionamiento: more common in Latin America; understood in Spain but sounds Latin American/formal.
Parking: an English loanword widely used in Spain for a paid car park/garage; informal but very common (e.g., el parking del centro).

How is garaje different from aparcamiento?

Garaje: a garage—can be a private home garage or a multi-storey public garage.
Aparcamiento: a car park/parking lot or the general idea of “parking.” In the sentence, el garaje de mi amiga suggests her private (home) garage.

Why es caro and not está caro?

Use:

Ser (es caro) for a general, inherent description: “Parking downtown is (generally) expensive.”
Estar (está caro) for a temporary state or current situation: Hoy el aparcamiento está caro (prices have spiked right now).

What’s the difference between gratis, gratuito, and libre?

Gratis: free of charge; invariable (doesn’t change for gender/number). Es gratis.
Gratuito/–a: also free of charge; more formal/administrative; agrees in gender/number. Entrada gratuita.
Libre: free/available, not about price. Hay una plaza libre (a free/available spot), not “free of charge.”

Is El garaje de mi amiga es gratis idiomatic?

It’s understandable. Many speakers would phrase it more naturally as:

Puedo aparcar gratis en el garaje de mi amiga.
Aparcar en el garaje de mi amiga me sale gratis. But es gratis isn’t wrong.

How does possession work? Why not use apostrophe‑s like English?

Spanish doesn’t use apostrophe‑s. Use:

de + owner: el garaje de mi amiga
Possessive adjective: su garaje, mi garaje, nuestro garaje You can’t say something like el garaje mi amiga without de.

Why amiga (feminine)? What if the friend is male?

Spanish marks the friend’s gender:

Female friend: mi amiga
Male friend: mi amigo
Mixed/unspecified group: mis amigos It reflects the friend’s gender, not the speaker’s.

Do adjectives agree with the noun? Why caro and not cara?

Yes. Adjectives agree in gender/number with the noun:

aparcamiento (masculine singular) → caro
zona (feminine singular) → cara
precios (masculine plural) → caros Note: gratis doesn’t change: es gratis / son gratis

Why use pero here and not sino (or sin embargo)?

Pero contrasts two statements: …es caro, pero… es gratis.
Sino (que) corrects a preceding negation: No es caro, sino barato / sino que es gratis.
Sin embargo ≈ “however”; more formal and usually starts the second clause: …es caro; sin embargo, …

Does the singular el aparcamiento mean one car park or parking in general?

Here it refers to parking as a whole in that area (the general situation). If you mean multiple facilities, use the plural:

Any pronunciation tips for Spain?

centro: in most of Spain, c before e sounds like English “th” in “thin” → approximately “THEN-tro.”
garaje: the j is a harsh h-sound (like German “Bach”): “ga-RA-he.”
aparcamiento: stress on mien: a-par-ca-MIEN-to.
gratis: stress on the first syllable: GRA-tis.

Are there idiomatic alternatives for “expensive” or “free” here?

Yes: