Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca. - My friends and I study together in the library.

Mis amigas y yo estudiamos… = My (female) friends and I study… → verb is we.
Grammatically, mis amigas y yo = nosotras (we, all female), so the verb must match nosotras:
- Nosotras estudiamos.
- Mis amigas y yo estudiamos.

You can’t say mis amigas y yo estudian; that would be incorrect, because yo pulls the verb into first person plural.

Could I say Yo y mis amigas estudiamos… instead of Mis amigas y yo estudiamos…?

Yes, it’s grammatically correct to say Yo y mis amigas estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca.

However, in both Spanish and English it’s usually considered more polite and more natural to mention yourself last:

More natural: Mis amigas y yo estudiamos…
Less natural: Yo y mis amigas estudiamos…

Both are understood and correct; native speakers use both, but the “others first, me last” order is preferred in careful speech.

Why is it mis amigas and not las amigas or mias amigas?

You want to say my friends, so you need the possessive adjective mis:

mi amiga = my (one) female friend
mis amigas = my (female) friends

You don’t say mias amigas; that mixes forms. Spanish has two different possessive types:

Before the noun (adjectives):
- mi / mis (my)
- tu / tus, su / sus, etc.
After the noun (long form):
- amigas mías = friends of mine

So:

mis amigas ✅ (my friends)
las amigas = the (female) friends (doesn’t show they’re yours)
mias amigas ❌ (wrong form)
amigas mías ✅ (friends of mine, more “of mine” style)

Why is it amigas and not amigos? Does amigas imply all my friends are female?

Yes. Amigas is the feminine plural of amiga (female friend), so:

amiga = female friend
amigo = male friend
amigas = only female friends
amigos = only male friends or a mixed group

So:

Mis amigas y yo implies:
- all your friends are female, and
- you (the speaker) are also female (because later you use juntas).

If the group were mixed (or all male), you’d normally say:

Mis amigos y yo estudiamos juntos en la biblioteca.

Why is it juntas and not juntos? How does juntas work here?

Juntas / juntos means together but behaves like an adjective that agrees with the group:

juntos = masculine plural or mixed group
juntas = feminine plural

In the sentence:

Mis amigas y yo = an all-female group (speaker included)
So you use juntas (feminine plural):
- Mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntas…

If there were any man in the group:

Mis amigos y yo estudiamos juntos en la biblioteca.

So juntas/juntos agrees in gender and number with the implied nosotras/nosotros (we).

What if I’m a man talking about female friends and myself? Would I still use juntas?

No. Spanish agreement is based on the whole group, not on the grammatical gender of amigas alone.

If you (a man) are included, the group is now mixed, so you must use the masculine plural:

You (male) + female friends:
- Mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntos en la biblioteca.

Juntas is only used when everyone in the group is female, including the speaker.

Is juntas necessary? Can I just say Mis amigas y yo estudiamos en la biblioteca?

You can absolutely drop juntas:

Mis amigas y yo estudiamos en la biblioteca.

This already means “My friends and I study in the library.”
Adding juntas simply emphasizes together, i.e., that you’re all studying in the same place at the same time, not separately:

With juntas: highlights that you’re together.
Without juntas: neutral; doesn’t say whether you’re together or not, just that you study there.

Why is it estudiamos (present simple) and not estamos estudiando (present continuous), since in English we often say “are studying”?

Spanish uses the simple present much more than English for both:

Habitual actions:
- Mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca.
  = We (regularly) study together in the library.
An action happening now (in many contexts):
- If you are physically in the library at this moment, you could still say:
  Mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca (ahora).

Estamos estudiando is used too, but it really emphasizes right now, in progress:

Mis amigas y yo estamos estudiando juntas en la biblioteca.
= We are (currently) studying together in the library.

Both are correct; the simple present is just more common and more flexible than in English.

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

In Spanish, you normally need an article before a singular countable noun. Biblioteca is a countable place, so:

en la biblioteca = in the library
en biblioteca ❌ sounds wrong in this context.

Some nouns can lose the article in certain fixed expressions (e.g., en casa, en clase), but biblioteca doesn’t usually do that. You generally say:

Voy a la biblioteca. = I’m going to the library.
Estudio en la biblioteca. = I study in the library.

Could I omit Mis amigas y yo and just say Estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca?

Yes. Spanish often drops the subject because the verb ending already shows the person:

Estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca.

Here, estudiamos clearly tells us we (nosotras/nosotros). Juntas further clarifies that the group is female.

Context would usually make it clear who we are. Adding Mis amigas y yo just makes it explicit:

Mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca. (explicit)
Estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca. (we study together in the library; “we” understood from context)

Could I replace Mis amigas y yo with Nosotras? Is Nosotras estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca correct?

Yes, that’s correct and natural:

Nosotras estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca.

Here:

Nosotras = we (all female)
juntas matches nosotras (feminine plural).

You can use either:

Mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca. (spells out who “we” are)
Nosotras estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca. (just “we”)

In everyday conversation, nosotras is often omitted as well, because estudiamos already indicates “we”:

Estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca.

Is the word order fixed, or could I move parts around, like En la biblioteca mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntas?

Word order in Spanish is more flexible than in English, especially for emphasis. These are all correct:

Mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntas en la biblioteca. (neutral)
En la biblioteca, mis amigas y yo estudiamos juntas. (emphasizes the place)
Mis amigas y yo, en la biblioteca, estudiamos juntas. (more marked, very spoken-style emphasis)

What you cannot do is break phrases in unnatural ways:

❌ Estudiamos juntas mis amigas y yo en la biblioteca. (sounds odd and confusing)

So yes, you can move en la biblioteca to the beginning for emphasis, but keep the main pieces together in a natural way.