Hoy en clase hablamos de un tema fácil: la comida.

Today in class we talk about an easy topic: food.

Breakdown of Hoy en clase hablamos de un tema fácil: la comida.

• un: a
• en: in
• hoy: today
• nosotros: we
• la clase: the class
• la comida: the food
• hablar: to talk
• fácil: easy
• .: period
• de: about
• el tema: the topic

Questions & Answers about Hoy en clase hablamos de un tema fácil: la comida.

How do I know if hablamos here is present or past tense?

In writing, hablamos can be either:

• present: we speak / we talk / we are talking
• preterite past: we spoke / we talked

In this sentence, the most natural reading in Spain is present:

• Hoy en clase hablamos de un tema fácil: la comida.
  → Today in class we are talking about an easy topic: food.

If the speaker wanted to clearly talk about something already finished earlier today, in Spain they would more commonly say:

• Hoy en clase hemos hablado de un tema fácil.
  (Today in class we talked / have talked about an easy topic.)

So here, unless there’s more context, hablamos is best understood as present tense.

Why is it hablamos and not estamos hablando?

Both are possible, but they feel a bit different in Spanish:

• Hoy en clase hablamos de un tema fácil.
  Neutral present: could mean

  • what we are talking about today (on today’s lesson), or
  • what we usually talk about when it is “today’s class” (schedule-like).

• Hoy en clase estamos hablando de un tema fácil.
  Present progressive: emphasizes that the action is happening right now, at this very moment.

In many contexts where English prefers “we’re talking”, Spanish is perfectly happy with the simple present (hablamos). The progressive (estamos hablando) is used when you really want to highlight the action as “in progress right now.”

Why is it en clase and not en la clase?

Both exist, but they don’t mean exactly the same:

• en clase
  = in class, during class
  Focus on the activity/time period of having class.

  • Hoy en clase hablamos… → During today’s class, we talk…

• en la clase
  = in the classroom / in the class
  More physical or specific: the particular class or room.

  • Hoy, en la clase de español, hablamos… → Today, in the Spanish class, we talk…

In your sentence, the idea is “during class,” so en clase is the most natural choice.

Why is the preposition de used in hablamos de un tema and not sobre un tema?

In Spanish, both hablar de and hablar sobre can mean “to talk about”:

• hablar de algo
• hablar sobre algo

Differences:

• de is the default and most common preposition here.
• sobre can sometimes sound a bit more formal, or slightly emphasize “about / on the subject of”, like a topic title.

In this sentence, hablamos de un tema fácil sounds perfectly natural and is what most people would say.
Hablamos sobre un tema fácil is also correct, just slightly different in style, not in meaning.

Why is it un tema fácil and not un fácil tema?

In Spanish, the normal position for most adjectives (like fácil) is after the noun:

• un tema fácil = an easy topic
• un tema interesante = an interesting topic

Putting fácil before the noun (un fácil tema) is grammatically possible but sounds very literary, old-fashioned, or stylized. It’s not how people speak in everyday modern Spanish.

So for normal speech, always say un tema fácil, un libro interesante, una tarea difícil, etc.

Why does la comida have the article la? Could it just be comida?

Both are possible, but they’re not identical:

• la comida

  • Often: food in general (as a concept)
  • Or: a specific meal (especially in Spain: lunch / main midday meal)
  • In your sentence, it’s like saying the topic of food → “food” as a topic.

• comida (without article)

  • More indefinite or generic; often used as a mass noun, e.g.
    
    • Hay comida en la nevera. – There’s food in the fridge.

Here, la comida works like “the topic of food” or “food as a general subject,” so the article feels natural: un tema fácil: la comida.

What exactly does comida mean in Spain — “food” or “meal”?

In Spain, comida has two common meanings:

1. Food (in general)

   • Me gusta la comida italiana. – I like Italian food.

2. The main midday meal (similar to “lunch,” but usually bigger and later than in many English-speaking countries)

   • ¿A qué hora es la comida? – What time is lunch?

In your sentence, la comida clearly means “food” as a topic, not a specific meal. But be aware that in everyday Spanish in Spain, comida very often means the midday meal.

Why is there a colon (:) before la comida?

The colon in Spanish is used similarly to English:

• to introduce an explanation, example, or list

Here:

• Hoy en clase hablamos de un tema fácil: la comida.

The part after the colon explains or specifies the “easy topic”:

• We’re talking about an easy topic: namely, food.

You could think of the colon as meaning “that is” or “namely” in this sentence.

Why is there no nosotros? Why not Hoy en clase nosotros hablamos…?

Spanish normally omits subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, nosotros, etc.) when the verb ending already shows who the subject is:

• hablamos can only be nosotros / nosotras (we), so nosotros is not needed.

Using nosotros is possible, but it changes the feel:

• Hoy en clase hablamos de un tema fácil.
  Neutral: today in class we talk…

• Hoy en clase nosotros hablamos de un tema fácil.
  Sounds like contrast or emphasis:
  Today in class, *we (as opposed to someone else) talk about an easy topic.*

In most neutral contexts, you simply say hablamos without nosotros.

Could I change the word order, like En clase hoy hablamos…? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the order a bit, and the meaning is basically the same:

• Hoy en clase hablamos de un tema fácil.
  (Very natural; “today in class we talk…”)

• En clase hoy hablamos de un tema fácil.
  Also correct, just a slight shift in rhythm; maybe a tiny emphasis on “in class”.

Spanish word order is quite flexible for adverbs like hoy, aquí, en clase, etc.
The main rule is that the meaning doesn’t change much; it’s mostly about emphasis and style. Here, the neutral, most common version is exactly what you have: Hoy en clase hablamos…

What’s the difference between tema, asunto, and tópico? Could I say un tópico fácil?

Careful here — tópico is a false friend.

• tema
  = topic, subject (what you talk about)
  → un tema fácil = an easy topic

• asunto
  = matter, issue, affair, sometimes “subject” as well
  → un asunto serio = a serious matter

• tópico
  Usually means cliché, stereotype, not “topic”
  → un tópico = a cliché
  Example: Es un tópico que los ingleses solo beben té.
  – It’s a cliché that English people only drink tea.

So in your sentence, tema is the correct word.
Un tópico fácil would mean something like an easy cliché, which is not what you want.

Why does fácil have an accent, and how do I pronounce it?

The accent mark in fácil shows where the stress falls:

• fá-cil → stress on the first syllable

Without the accent, the word would be spelled facil and, following normal rules, people would expect the stress on the last syllable (fa-CIL). The accent avoids that mistake.

Pronunciation tips:

• hoy: the h is silent; it sounds like English “oy”.
• clase: CLA-se, stress on cla.
• fácil: FA-cil, stress on fa, with a clear th sound for c in Spain: FA-thil (like English th in thing).