Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): La profesora habla de la ciudad en clase. - The teacher talks about the city in class.

The sentence is talking about a female teacher, so it uses the feminine form la profesora. If it were a man, it would be El profesor habla de la ciudad en clase.

Why is there no ella before habla? In English we say she speaks.

Spanish usually drops subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella, etc.) when the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

habla can only mean he/she/it speaks or you (formal) speak.
From context (la profesora), we know it means she.

So La profesora habla de la ciudad already means The (female) teacher speaks about the city. Using Ella la profesora habla… would be incorrect, and Ella habla de la ciudad would be correct but emphasizes she instead of la profesora.

What tense is habla and what does it mean exactly? Does it mean “speaks” or “is speaking”?

Habla is:

3rd person singular of hablar in the present indicative: (él/ella) habla

In Spanish, the simple present can mean both:

She speaks about the city in class. (regular/habitual action)
She is speaking about the city in class. (right now, depending on context)

So La profesora habla de la ciudad en clase can cover both meanings, unless you need to emphasize right now, in which case you could also say:

La profesora está hablando de la ciudad en clase.

Why do we say habla de la ciudad and not just habla la ciudad?

In Spanish, hablar often goes with a preposition:

hablar de algo = to talk/speak about something
hablar con alguien = to talk/speak with someone
hablar en español = to speak in Spanish

So hablar de la ciudad literally means to speak about the city.
If you said hablar la ciudad, it would sound wrong; la ciudad is not the object you speak (you speak a language, e.g. hablar español), but the topic you talk about, so you need de.

Could we say habla sobre la ciudad instead of habla de la ciudad? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

La profesora habla de la ciudad en clase.
La profesora habla sobre la ciudad en clase.

Both are correct and very common.

hablar de = to talk about
hablar sobre = to talk about / to talk about the topic of

In most everyday contexts, there is no real difference in meaning; de is a bit more neutral and frequent. Sobre can sometimes sound a little more formal or topic-focused (like “on the subject of”), but they are often interchangeable.

Why is it de la ciudad and not del ciudad?

Spanish contracts de + el into del only with the masculine singular article el:

de + el → del (masculine singular)
de + la → de la (no contraction)
de + los → de los
de + las → de las

Ciudad is feminine, so it takes la:

la ciudad → de la ciudad, not del ciudad.

How do I know that ciudad is feminine, so we say la ciudad?

You mostly have to memorize noun gender, but there are some patterns:

Nouns ending in -dad are almost always feminine:
- la ciudad (city)
- la universidad (university)
- la posibilidad (possibility)

So with ciudad, the typical pattern and actual usage both give la ciudad, not el ciudad.

Why is it en clase and not en la clase? What’s the difference?

Both exist, but they are used a bit differently.

en clase (without article) usually means in class / during class time / in a class setting in general:
- La profesora habla de la ciudad en clase.
  → She talks about the city during class (in the context of teaching).
en la clase (with article) refers to a specific class or classroom:
- La profesora habla de la ciudad en la clase de historia.
  → She talks about the city in the history class.
- La profesora habla de la ciudad en la clase del fondo.
  → She talks about the city in the classroom at the back.

So en clase is more general, like English in class, while en la clase is more specific, like in the class / in the classroom.

Why is there no article in en clase when Spanish usually needs articles?

Spanish often drops the article with certain set expressions about activities, especially with en:

en clase = in class
en casa = at home
en misa = at mass
en prisión = in prison

These function like fixed phrases. With other nouns, you normally keep the article:

en la ciudad = in the city
en la escuela = at school

So en clase without la sounds natural and is the standard expression.

Can I change the word order, like En clase la profesora habla de la ciudad?

Yes. Spanish word order is fairly flexible, especially for emphasis. All of these are correct:

La profesora habla de la ciudad en clase. (neutral order)
En clase, la profesora habla de la ciudad. (emphasis on in class)
La profesora, en clase, habla de la ciudad. (slight pause around en clase)

The basic information is the same; you just move parts to stress them or adapt to the rhythm of the sentence.

Could I use the present progressive and say La profesora está hablando de la ciudad en clase?

Yes.

La profesora habla de la ciudad en clase.
- Often used for general or habitual actions.
- Can also mean “is speaking” if context makes it clear.
La profesora está hablando de la ciudad en clase.
- Focuses on what is happening right now / at this moment.

So if you want to strongly highlight that it’s happening at this exact moment, está hablando is very natural. For general descriptions (what she usually does in class), habla is more common.

Is there anything specifically “Spanish from Spain” about this sentence?

The grammar and vocabulary in the sentence are standard and understood everywhere. The main Spain-specific point is pronunciation:

In Spain (most regions), c before i and d in ciudad are often pronounced with a “th” sound:
- ciudad → [θjuˈðað] (roughly “thyu-DAHD”)
In most of Latin America, ciudad is pronounced with an s-like sound:
- ciudad → [sjuˈðað] or [sjuˈdat] (depending on the region)

The choice of profesora is also typical for secondary school and above in Spain; in some Latin American contexts, maestra might be more common for primary school teachers.