Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Quiero entregar el informe a la profesora antes de la reunión. - I want to hand in the report to the teacher before the meeting.

In Spanish, the verb ending (-o in quiero) already tells you the subject is yo, so the pronoun is often dropped unless you want contrast or emphasis:

Yo quiero entregar el informe, pero ellos no quieren.

Why use entregar instead of just dar?

Both mean to give, but they’re used differently:

entregar = to hand in, to submit, to deliver (often something official, expected, or on a deadline)
- entregar un informe, entregar un trabajo, entregar un paquete
dar = to give in a much more general sense
- dar un regalo, dar la mano, dar dinero

For giving a report to a teacher, entregar el informe is the natural and specific verb in Spanish.

Why is it el informe and not just informe without an article?

In Spanish, you almost always need a determiner (article, possessive, etc.) before a singular, countable noun.

So:

el informe = the report (a specific report you both know about)
Bare informe without any article is generally not correct here.

Spanish doesn’t allow the article to drop as easily as English does. English can say “I must submit report” in some note-style English, but standard Spanish needs el informe, un informe, mi informe, etc.

Could it be un informe instead of el informe? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are grammatically correct but mean different things:

entregar el informe
→ to hand in *the report* (a specific, known report: the one for this class, this project, etc.)
entregar un informe
→ to hand in *a report* (one report, not specified which one; more generic)

In a real-life context with a teacher and a known assignment, el informe is more natural: it refers to that particular report.

Why is it a la profesora and not para la profesora?

Because here we’re marking the recipient of the action, not the purpose.

entregar algo a alguien = to hand something to someone (recipient → use a)
para is more for purpose, benefit, or destination in a broader sense:
- Este informe es para la profesora. (This report is for the teacher. → intended for her)
- Quiero entregar el informe a la profesora. (I want to hand the report to the teacher. → she receives it)

So with the verb entregar, the normal pattern for the recipient is a, not para.

Is a la profesora an example of the “personal a”?

Partly, yes, but there’s a nuance:

Personal a: used with direct objects that are people:
- Veo a la profesora. (I see the teacher.) → direct object + person → a
Indirect object a: used with indirect objects (recipients, addressees), which are very often people:
- Entrego el informe a la profesora. (I hand the report to the teacher.) → she is the recipient.

Here, la profesora is an indirect object (the one who receives the report), so the a is required as the indirect-object marker.

Can I replace a la profesora with a pronoun like le? Where does it go?

Yes. You can use the indirect object pronoun le:

Le quiero entregar el informe.
Quiero entregarle el informe.

Both are correct in Spain:

Pronoun before the conjugated verb: Le quiero entregar…
Pronoun attached to the infinitive: Quiero entregar+le

You can also keep both (common in Spanish):

Le quiero entregar el informe a la profesora.
(Pronoun + full noun for clarity or emphasis.)

Can I change the word order to Quiero entregar a la profesora el informe?

Yes, it’s grammatically correct:

Quiero entregar el informe a la profesora. (more neutral/common)
Quiero entregar a la profesora el informe. (slight emphasis on to the teacher)

Spanish allows some flexibility:

Direct object (el informe) and indirect object (a la profesora) can switch places.
The most usual everyday order here is still: el informe a la profesora.

Why is it antes de la reunión and not antes la reunión?

Because:

antes by itself is an adverb (before).
When followed by a noun, you need antes de + noun:
- antes de la reunión
- antes del examen
- antes de la cena

So:

❌ antes la reunión → incorrect
✅ antes de la reunión → correct

What’s the difference between antes de la reunión and antes de que empiece la reunión?

Both refer to something happening before the meeting, but the structure changes:

antes de + noun
- antes de la reunión = before the meeting
- Simple, just a noun phrase.
antes de que + clause (subjunctive)
- antes de que empiece la reunión = before the meeting starts
- After antes de que, Spanish requires the subjunctive (empiece, not empieza).

So:

If what comes after is just a noun → antes de + noun
If it’s a full sentence with a verb → antes de que + subjunctive

Why does reunión have an accent on the ó?

Because of Spanish stress rules:

Words ending in -n, -s, or a vowel are normally stressed on the second-to-last syllable.
reunion (without accent) would be stressed as REU-nion, which is wrong.

The actual stress is on the last syllable: reu-nión.
Since that’s not the default position for a word ending in -n, it needs a written accent:

reunión → stress on -ón.

Could I use the future tense (entregaré) instead of quiero entregar? How would the meaning change?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

Quiero entregar el informe…
→ I *want to hand in the report…* (focus on desire/intention)
Entregaré el informe a la profesora antes de la reunión.
→ I *will hand in the report…* (focus on future action/promise)

The original sentence tells us about your wish/intention right now.
The future tense is more like a simple statement or promise about what will happen.

What’s the difference between profesora and maestra in Spain?

In Spain, there’s a rough distinction:

maestra / maestro
- Often used for primary school teachers.
- Also the job title: maestro de primaria.
profesora / profesor
- Commonly used for secondary school and university teachers.
- In daily speech, students almost always say la profe / el profe (short for profesora/profesor).

So la profesora in this sentence suggests a secondary-school or university teacher (or at least sounds like that to a Spaniard).