Breakdown of Mi prima estudia Derecho en la universidad y hoy tiene un examen importante.
Questions & Answers about Mi prima estudia Derecho en la universidad y hoy tiene un examen importante.
In Spanish, most nouns referring to people have a masculine and a feminine form:
- primo = male cousin
- prima = female cousin
You choose based on the cousin’s gender, not the speaker’s gender.
So:
- Mi primo estudia Derecho… = My (male) cousin studies Law…
- Mi prima estudia Derecho… = My (female) cousin studies Law…
If you have several cousins:
- mis primos = my cousins (all male or mixed group)
- mis primas = my cousins (all female)
Spanish normally omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is. This is called a “pro‑drop” language.
- estudia already tells us it’s he/she/it (3rd person singular).
- The context (mi prima) tells us it’s she.
You can say Ella estudia Derecho…, but it sounds more marked, like you’re emphasizing she (and not someone else). In neutral speech, Spanish speakers usually leave ella out.
In Spain, when people talk about a university degree or a specific program of study, it’s very common to capitalize it:
- Estudia Derecho. = She’s studying (for a degree in) Law.
You might also see it in lowercase (estudia derecho), especially if you mean the discipline in general rather than the specific degree. Both forms appear in real usage; capitalization is frequent in Spain for names of degrees (Derecho, Medicina, Ingeniería, Filología Inglesa).
Spanish distinguishes between:
- Derecho (usually singular, often capitalized): the field of law or the Law degree.
- Estudia Derecho. = She studies Law / She’s doing a Law degree.
- la ley: a specific law or “the law” as a set of rules.
- La ley prohíbe eso. = The law forbids that.
So in a university context in Spain, Derecho is the normal way to say she’s studying Law.
Spanish uses the simple present much more broadly than English.
- Mi prima estudia Derecho.
= My cousin studies Law / is studying Law (in the general, long‑term sense).
You would use está estudiando mainly when you want to highlight the action in progress right now:
- Ahora mismo está estudiando para el examen.
= Right now she is studying for the exam.
For ongoing studies at university, estudia is the normal choice.
English often says “at university” with no article. Spanish almost always uses an article with universidad in this kind of sentence:
- Estudia en la universidad. = She studies at university.
You can specify which one:
- Estudia en la Universidad de Madrid.
- Estudia en la universidad pública.
Dropping the article (estudia en universidad) is not correct in standard Spanish.
Different prepositions express different ideas:
- en la universidad = at / in the university (location where she studies).
- a la universidad = to the university (movement towards it).
So:
- Estudia Derecho en la universidad. = She studies Law at university.
- Va a la universidad todos los días. = She goes to university every day.
Spanish uses tener with examen to express “to have an exam/test”:
- Hoy tiene un examen importante. = Today she has an important exam/test.
Other common verbs in Spain:
- hacer un examen = to take / sit an exam (from the student’s point of view).
- poner un examen = to set an exam (from the teacher’s point of view).
But in this sentence the natural verb is tener. Saying hace un examen changes the nuance a bit; it focuses more on the act of taking it right then, not just its occurrence on her schedule.
By default, most adjectives in Spanish go after the noun:
- un examen importante = an important exam
Some adjectives can go before the noun, but usually with a change in nuance or a more literary/subjective tone. For importante, un importante examen sounds more stylistic or emphatic (e.g. in journalism); everyday speech prefers un examen importante.
The word examen is masculine in Spanish:
- el examen (singular)
- los exámenes (plural, note the accent shift)
So the correct indefinite article is un:
- un examen importante = an important exam
You just have to memorize the gender with each noun. Many masculine nouns end in -o, but there are plenty of masculine nouns with other endings, like el examen, el problema, el sofá.
Yes, hoy (today) is quite flexible in position. All of these are natural:
- Hoy mi prima tiene un examen importante.
- Mi prima hoy tiene un examen importante.
- Mi prima tiene hoy un examen importante.
In the original, y hoy tiene gives a little pause and emphasis to today as a new bit of information. Spanish often puts time expressions like hoy, mañana, esta tarde at the beginning or just before the verb.
Yes, adjectives must agree in number and gender with the noun:
- el examen importante (singular, masculine)
- los exámenes importantes (plural, masculine)
Since examen is singular masculine, importante also appears in its singular form:
- un examen importante
Note that importante has the same form for masculine and feminine. Only number changes: importante / importantes.
Yes, and it slightly changes the focus:
- Mi prima estudia Derecho en la universidad…
Emphasizes her degree/field of study (Law). - Mi prima está en la universidad y hoy tiene un examen importante.
Emphasizes her location/status: she is at university (as a student), not necessarily what she studies.
The original sentence specifically tells you what she is studying (Law), which is why estudia Derecho is used.