Breakdown of En cada capítulo de esta novela, la autora incluye un pequeño poema.
Questions & Answers about En cada capítulo de esta novela, la autora incluye un pequeño poema.
In Spanish, cada is always followed by a singular noun, even though it refers to more than one item in meaning.
- cada capítulo = every chapter / each chapter
- cada persona = every person
You cannot say cada capítulos. The plural idea is already contained in cada, so the noun stays singular.
Yes, you can say both, but they have slightly different nuances:
En cada capítulo de esta novela
Emphasises each chapter individually, one by one.En todos los capítulos de esta novela
Emphasises the idea that it happens in all of the chapters as a group.
In many contexts they are interchangeable, but cada feels a bit more focused on the repetition in each separate chapter.
The preposition de often expresses possession, belonging, or “part of”:
- el final de la película = the end of the film
- las páginas de este libro = the pages of this book
Here, capítulo de esta novela means “a chapter of this novel” (a chapter that belongs to this novel).
En esta novela would mean “in this novel” (inside the whole work), not “chapter of this novel”. The structure is:
- En cada capítulo de esta novela = In each chapter of this novel
(location: in each chapter; belonging: of this novel)
These demonstratives show distance, either physical or psychological:
- esta novela = this novel (close to the speaker, or just mentioned / very present in the conversation)
- esa novela = that novel (closer to the listener or a bit more distant in context)
- aquella novela = that novel (over there), far away in space or in time / memory
In practice:
- Talking about a book you’re holding or just introduced: esta novela
- Talking about a book the other person has or one you both know but isn’t “here”: esa novela
- Talking about something distant in time or space: aquella novela que leímos en el instituto
In Spanish, when referring to a specific person as the subject, you normally use the definite article:
- La autora incluye un pequeño poema.
- El profesor explica la lección.
Leaving out the article (Autora incluye…) sounds unnatural, almost like a newspaper headline style or a label, not normal narrative.
You can omit the article in some other contexts (after ser with professions, for example):
- Ella es autora. = She is (an) author.
But as the main subject of this sentence, la autora is the normal form.
Yes, autora is common and standard in Spain.
- autor = male author, or historically the generic term
- autora = female author
Current usage in Spain tends to mark the feminine when the person is known to be a woman:
- la autora del libro (female)
- el autor del libro (male)
If you don’t know the gender, you often see masculine used by default (el autor), but many people and institutions now try to make gender explicit or inclusive.
The infinitive is incluir (to include). In the present tense, it’s irregular in the yo / tú / él, ella, usted / ellos forms: a y appears before the ending.
Present indicative of incluir:
- yo incluyo
- tú incluyes
- él / ella / usted incluye
- nosotros incluimos
- vosotros incluís
- ellos / ellas / ustedes incluyen
So la autora incluye = the author includes (3rd person singular, él/ella form).
Incluye (present) describes a general, habitual fact or a statement about how the book is structured:
- En cada capítulo…, la autora incluye un pequeño poema.
= In each chapter, the author includes a small poem (this is how the book is).
Other tenses change the meaning:
incluyó (preterite):
En cada capítulo…, la autora incluyó un pequeño poema.
→ You’re talking about a completed action in the past, maybe about a book that was written/edited at some specific time.incluía (imperfect):
En cada capítulo…, la autora incluía un pequeño poema.
→ Describes a repeated or habitual action in the past (how things were, not how they are now).
For a neutral description of a book that exists now, the present incluye is the natural choice.
In Spanish, singular countable nouns almost always need an article (un/una, el/la) or another determiner.
So you normally cannot say:
- ✗ incluye pequeño poema
You need:
- incluye un pequeño poema (a small poem)
- incluye el pequeño poema (the small poem)
- incluye algún pequeño poema (some small poem(s))
Omitting the article in this position would sound unnatural in standard Spanish.
Yes, there is a nuance:
un pequeño poema
The adjective pequeño is before the noun. This often gives a slightly more subjective or stylistic feel. It can suggest something like “a little poem”, “a short, modest poem” in a more “literary” or emotional way.un poema pequeño
The adjective is after the noun, which tends to sound more literal, descriptive, focusing more on physical size or length: “a small/short poem” as a factual description.
Both are grammatically correct. In literary or narrative contexts, un pequeño poema is very natural.
Yes, that word order is also completely correct and very common:
En cada capítulo de esta novela, la autora incluye un pequeño poema.
→ Starts with the context (in each chapter of this novel), then states what happens.La autora incluye un pequeño poema en cada capítulo de esta novela.
→ Starts with the subject (the author), then adds where.
Both are natural. Spanish allows flexible word order, especially with adverbial phrases such as en cada capítulo de esta novela. The choice often depends on what you want to emphasise or what fits the surrounding sentences better.
The comma separates an introductory adverbial phrase from the main clause:
- En cada capítulo de esta novela, → introductory phrase (time/place/circumstance)
- la autora incluye un pequeño poema. → main clause
In Spanish, it’s common (and recommended) to put a comma after a relatively long initial phrase like this. With a very short phrase, it’s sometimes optional, but here the comma improves clarity and is standard.