En la biblioteca, la papelera está junto a la puerta.

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Breakdown of En la biblioteca, la papelera está junto a la puerta.

• estar: to be
• la biblioteca: the library
• la puerta: the door

Questions & Answers about En la biblioteca, la papelera está junto a la puerta.

Why is it “en la biblioteca” and not “a la biblioteca”?

Spanish uses en to express location (in / at a place) and a to express movement (to a place).

• En la biblioteca = in/at the library (location, where something is).
• Voy a la biblioteca = I’m going to the library (movement towards it).

In this sentence we are describing where the bin is, not where it’s going, so en is correct.

Why do we say “la biblioteca” and not just “en biblioteca”?

In Spanish, you normally need an article (el, la, los, las) before a singular countable noun, even with places:

• en la biblioteca = in the library
• en la escuela = at school
• en el trabajo = at work

Saying “en biblioteca” is wrong in standard Spanish.
Omitting the article is much less common than in English and only happens in a few fixed expressions (e.g. en casa, en clase).

Why is it “la papelera” and not “el papelero”?