Mi hermano también barre la cocina con la escoba.

My brother also sweeps the kitchen with the broom.

Breakdown of Mi hermano también barre la cocina con la escoba.

• mi: my
• con: with
• también: also
• la cocina: the kitchen
• el hermano: the brother
• barrer: to sweep
• la escoba: the broom

Questions & Answers about Mi hermano también barre la cocina con la escoba.

Why is it mi hermano and not mío hermano or el hermano?

In Spanish you use a possessive adjective before the noun:

• mi hermano = my brother
• tu hermano = your brother
• su hermano = his / her / their / your (formal) brother

So mi goes directly before hermano.

Mío is a possessive pronoun, used mainly after the noun or instead of the noun:

• un hermano mío = a brother of mine
• El coche es mío. = The car is mine.

You would not say mío hermano in modern standard Spanish.

Using el hermano would mean the brother in general, without saying whose brother it is. Here you want to say my brother, so you need mi.

Could this sentence also mean my sibling instead of my brother?

In everyday Spanish, hermano is understood as brother (male), and hermana as sister (female).

However, in some contexts (like talking about family generally), hermanos in the plural can mean siblings (brothers and sisters together):

• Tengo tres hermanos.
  → Could mean I have three brothers or I have three siblings, depending on context.

But in the singular, mi hermano is normally interpreted as my brother (a male person), not my sibling in general.

Why is también placed before barre? Can it go in other positions?

También (also/too) is relatively flexible in position, but the most common neutral place is before the conjugated verb:

• Mi hermano también barre la cocina.

Other possible positions:

• Mi hermano barre también la cocina.
  → Sounds like you’re emphasizing that the kitchen is also among the things he sweeps.
• También mi hermano barre la cocina.
  → Emphasizes my brother (“my brother also sweeps the kitchen”).

So you can move también for different emphasis, but Mi hermano también barre la cocina is the most standard, neutral word order.

What tense and person is barre, and what is the infinitive?

The infinitive is barrer (to sweep).

Barre is:

• 3rd person singular
• present indicative

So él barre / ella barre / usted barre all mean he/she/you (formal) sweep.

Full present tense of barrer:

• yo barro
• tú barres
• él / ella / usted barre
• nosotros/as barremos
• vosotros/as barréis
• ellos / ellas / ustedes barren

It’s a completely regular -er verb.

Why is it la cocina and not just cocina?

In Spanish, you generally use the definite article (el, la, los, las) with nouns much more than in English.

Here, la cocina literally is “the kitchen”, but in many contexts it corresponds to English “the kitchen” or just “the kitchen” as a place name. English sometimes drops the article (“He’s in kitchen”), but Spanish usually keeps it:

• Barre la cocina. = He sweeps the kitchen.
• Limpia el baño. = He cleans the bathroom.

You wouldn’t normally say barre cocina without the article; that sounds wrong.

Could you say Mi hermano barre el suelo instead? What’s the difference from la cocina?

Yes:

• Mi hermano barre la cocina.
  → Focuses on the kitchen as an area/room.
• Mi hermano barre el suelo.
  → Focuses on the floor specifically, without specifying which room.

You could combine them:

• Mi hermano barre el suelo de la cocina.
  → My brother sweeps the kitchen floor.

So la cocina is the whole room; el suelo is just the floor.

Why is it con la escoba and not con escoba or con una escoba?

All three are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:

• con la escoba
  → with the broom (a specific broom, probably the one they usually use).
• con una escoba
  → with a broom (introduces it as a non‑specific broom; more natural if you’re mentioning it for the first time or contrasting with another tool).
• con escoba
  → Grammatically possible but less common in everyday speech here; sounds a bit like “using broom” in a generic, tool-type way. You’ll see this structure more with some other tools or in set phrases.

In this context, con la escoba is the most natural way to say it in Spain.

Is escoba feminine because it ends in -a? Always?

Escoba is feminine, yes: la escoba, una escoba.

Many nouns ending in -a are feminine, but not all. Some masculine nouns end in -a:

• el día (the day)
• el mapa (the map)
• el problema (the problem)

Similarly, many nouns ending in -o are masculine, but there are some feminine exceptions. So the -a / -o rule is a useful general guide, but you still have to memorize the gender of each noun.

In this case, escoba follows the usual pattern: -a → feminine.

Could I drop mi hermano and just say También barre la cocina con la escoba?

Yes, Spanish often omits the subject when it’s clear from context.

• Mi hermano también barre la cocina con la escoba.
• También barre la cocina con la escoba.

The second sentence is completely correct; it would be understood as He/She also sweeps the kitchen with the broom depending on previous context. Spanish relies on verb endings (like barre) plus context to identify the subject.

What’s the difference between también and tampoco?

Both relate to “also/too”, but:

• también is used with affirmative ideas:

  • Yo barro la cocina. Mi hermano también barre la cocina.
    → I sweep the kitchen. My brother also sweeps the kitchen.

• tampoco is used with negative ideas:

  • Yo no barro la cocina. Mi hermano tampoco barre la cocina.
    → I don’t sweep the kitchen. My brother doesn’t sweep it either.

So también = also/too, and tampoco = not … either / neither.

Does cocina only mean “kitchen”, or can it mean “stove” too?

Cocina can mean both in Spanish, depending on context:

1. The room (kitchen)
   
   • La cocina está sucia. = The kitchen is dirty.
2. The cooker / stove (especially in Spain)
   
   • La cocina no funciona. = The cooker/stove doesn’t work.

In your sentence, Mi hermano también barre la cocina clearly means the room, because you’re sweeping it. You wouldn’t sweep a stove with a broom.

Is the pronunciation of the rr in barre different from the r in hermano?

Yes:

• rr (or r at the start of a word) is a strong, rolled sound.
• Single r between vowels is a weaker, single tap.

In practice:

• ba
  • rre: the rr in barre is rolled/trilled.
• he
  • rma: the r in hermano is just a single tap.

So you should roll the rr in barre, but not in hermano (although some learners over-roll; it’s not usually a big problem for understanding).

Could I use además instead of también here?

You could, but it slightly changes the feel:

• Mi hermano también barre la cocina.
  → My brother also sweeps the kitchen (simple “also/too”).

• Mi hermano, además, barre la cocina.
  → My brother, in addition, sweeps the kitchen.
  It sounds a bit more formal or emphasizes that this is another task on top of others.

También is the more neutral, everyday choice for “also” in this kind of sentence.

Is this sentence particularly “Spain Spanish”, or would it be understood everywhere?

The sentence Mi hermano también barre la cocina con la escoba is perfectly standard and would be understood everywhere in the Spanish‑speaking world.

In some places, people might more often say trapear or fregar instead of barrer when they mean mop the floor, but barrer itself (to sweep) and escoba (broom) are widely understood. The vocabulary and grammar in this sentence are fully international.