Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Por suerte, la dependienta imprime la factura para la clienta. - Luckily, the shop assistant prints the invoice for the customer.

Por suerte = we are glad about something that actually happened.
- Por suerte, la dependienta imprime la factura… = Luckily, the assistant prints the invoice…
Con suerte / con un poco de suerte = with (a bit of) luck, talking about something that might happen.
- Con un poco de suerte, la dependienta imprimirá la factura. = With a bit of luck, the assistant will print the invoice.
Afortunadamente also means fortunately, but it sounds a bit more formal or written than por suerte, which is very common in everyday speech in Spain.

So in this context, por suerte is the natural informal choice.

Why do we say dependienta and clienta instead of dependiente and cliente?

Spanish marks grammatical gender more strongly than English.

Dependiente = shop assistant (masculine or generic)
- el dependiente = male shop assistant
Dependienta = specifically a female shop assistant
- la dependienta

The same pattern with cliente / clienta:

el cliente = male customer
la clienta = female customer

In real usage in Spain:

Dependienta is the normal feminine form for a shop assistant.
For cliente, you will hear both la cliente and la clienta, but la clienta is now fully accepted and quite common, especially when speakers want to mark feminine clearly.

So this sentence is explicitly talking about two women: the shop assistant (la dependienta) and the customer (la clienta).

Why do we use la before dependienta, factura, and clienta?

In Spanish, singular countable nouns usually need an article (el / la / un / una) where English often omits it.

Here, la is the definite article (“the”):

la dependienta = the shop assistant (a specific one)
la factura = the invoice (a specific invoice)
la clienta = the customer (a specific one)

The sentence assumes the speaker and listener know which assistant, invoice and customer are being referred to (from context), so it uses the definite article la, not the indefinite una and not zero article (as English can do).

Could we say Una dependienta imprime una factura para una clienta instead?

Yes, grammatically that is correct, but the meaning changes:

Por suerte, la dependienta imprime la factura para la clienta.
→ Luckily, *the shop assistant prints the invoice for the customer.*
(They are specific, known people/documents.)
Por suerte, una dependienta imprime una factura para una clienta.
→ Luckily, *a shop assistant prints an invoice for a customer.
(They are *non‑specific, just “some” assistant, “some” customer.)

So yes, you can change la to una, but it changes the sentence from specific to non‑specific, just like the vs a/an in English.

Why is it imprime and not está imprimiendo?

Both are possible, but they are used slightly differently.

Imprime is the simple present (3rd person singular of imprimir).
- In Spanish, the simple present is very often used for actions happening “now”, especially in narratives.
- It can correspond to English “prints” or “is printing”, depending on context.
Está imprimiendo is the present continuous (“is printing”).
- It emphasises that the action is in progress at this moment.
- It is used less frequently than in English; Spanish doesn’t need it as often.

So:

Por suerte, la dependienta imprime la factura…
sounds completely natural in Spanish narration:
“Luckily, the assistant (is) printing the invoice…”
Por suerte, la dependienta está imprimiendo la factura…
is also correct but puts more focus on the ongoing process right now.

Can por suerte go in a different position in the sentence?

Yes. Spanish word order is flexible, especially for adverbial expressions like por suerte. All of these are possible:

Por suerte, la dependienta imprime la factura para la clienta.
La dependienta, por suerte, imprime la factura para la clienta.
La dependienta imprime, por suerte, la factura para la clienta.
La dependienta imprime la factura para la clienta, por suerte.

Differences:

At the beginning: very common, sets the tone from the start.
In the middle: adds a bit of extra emphasis, more spoken‑like.
At the end: sounds slightly more “afterthought‑like” in tone, but still correct.

The most neutral in Spain is the original: Por suerte, la dependienta imprime la factura para la clienta.

Why is para used before la clienta? Could we use a la clienta instead?

Here, para introduces the beneficiary / destination of the action:

imprimir algo para alguien = to print something *for someone*

Para la clienta = for the customer → the invoice is intended for her.

With this verb, you will also hear imprimir algo a alguien in Spain:

La dependienta imprime la factura a la clienta.

This is also grammatically correct and quite common. Differences are subtle:

para la clienta
- Focus on the purpose / destination (“the invoice is meant for her”).
a la clienta
- Focus a bit more on the indirect object (the person receiving the action).

In many everyday contexts, speakers use para and a almost interchangeably with verbs like this. The original sentence chooses para to clearly express the idea of “for the benefit of the client.”

Can we replace para la clienta with an indirect object pronoun?

Yes. The beneficiary la clienta is an indirect object, so the pronoun is le (for both masculine and feminine in the singular).

You can say:

Por suerte, la dependienta le imprime la factura.
→ Luckily, the assistant prints the invoice for her (for the customer).

If you also keep the noun, you get:

Por suerte, la dependienta le imprime la factura a la clienta.

Spanish often keeps both the pronoun and the full noun (le … a la clienta) to make it clear who “le” refers to.

If you also replace la factura with a pronoun, you get:

Por suerte, la dependienta se la imprime.

Here:

le + la becomes se la (you can’t say le la).
se = to/for her (the client)
la = the invoice

This last version is very pronominal and would usually appear when the context already makes everything clear.

In Spain, is factura the same as ticket or recibo?

Not exactly; there are nuances in Spain:

Factura
- A formal invoice, usually with tax details (NIF/CIF, address, VAT/IVA, etc.).
- Used for companies, professional services, things you might need for accounting.
Ticket (often written as tique in Spanish spelling)
- The standard shop receipt you get at supermarkets, clothes shops, etc.
- Often informal, just proves your purchase.
Recibo
- A receipt or bill, often for services or regular payments:
  - recibo de la luz (electricity bill)
  - recibo del alquiler (rent receipt)

So la dependienta imprime la factura suggests she’s printing a formal invoice, not just a regular shop receipt, unless the context says otherwise.

How can I tell who is the subject and who is the object in this sentence?

In Por suerte, la dependienta imprime la factura para la clienta, everything is feminine singular, so the articles are all la, which can be confusing. To identify roles, look at:

Position and typical word order (S–V–O)
- Default order in Spanish is: Subject – Verb – Direct object – (Other parts)
- la dependienta (before the verb) → subject
- imprime → verb
- la factura (after the verb) → direct object (what is being printed)
- para la clienta → prepositional phrase showing the beneficiary
Meaning
- The shop assistant is the one doing the action → subject.
- The invoice is the thing printed → direct object.
- The customer benefits from the action → indirect object / beneficiary.

So the structure is:

Subject: la dependienta
Verb: imprime
Direct object: la factura
Beneficiary (indirect object, with preposition): para la clienta