La empleada es muy amable con los turistas.

The employee is very kind to the tourists.

Breakdown of La empleada es muy amable con los turistas.

• ser: to be
• amable: kind
• muy: very
• con: with
• los: the
• el turista: the tourist
• la empleada: the employee

Questions & Answers about La empleada es muy amable con los turistas.

Why is it la empleada and not el empleado?

In Spanish, nouns that refer to people often have masculine and feminine forms:

• el empleado = the (male) employee
• la empleada = the (female) employee

The article (el / la) and the noun (empleado / empleada) must match in gender. The sentence tells you the employee is female, so it uses la empleada.

Why is there a la in front of empleada? Can you just say Empleada es muy amable?

You normally need a definite article with singular countable nouns used as subjects:

• La empleada es muy amable. ✅
• Empleada es muy amable. ⛔ (sounds wrong in standard Spanish)

La is the feminine singular definite article, equivalent to “the” in English. Without it, the sentence is ungrammatical in this context.

Why is the subject pronoun ella (“she”) not used? Could you say Ella es muy amable con los turistas?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Es muy amable con los turistas.
• (Ella) es muy amable con los turistas.

Both are correct, but Ella es muy amable… is only used when you want to emphasize she (as opposed to someone else) or to make the subject very clear. In neutral contexts, speakers just say La empleada es… or Es….

Why is the verb ser (es) used here instead of estar (está)?

Ser is used for more permanent or characteristic qualities:

• La empleada es muy amable. = Being kind is part of her character.

Estar is used for temporary states or conditions:

• La empleada está muy amable hoy. = She is being very nice today (more than usual).

So es muy amable describes what she is generally like, not just at a particular moment.

What is the function of muy in muy amable? Can I leave it out?

Muy means “very” and intensifies the adjective:

• amable = kind / nice
• muy amable = very kind / very nice

You can leave muy out:

• La empleada es amable con los turistas.

That just sounds a bit less strong than muy amable.

Why does amable come after es and not directly after empleada?

In Spanish, with the verb ser, the normal order is:

subject + ser + adjective

So:

• La empleada es amable.

You can say la empleada amable if it’s used as an adjective directly modifying the noun, usually in a longer phrase or for contrast:

• La empleada amable que conocimos ayer… = the nice employee we met yesterday…

But in a simple sentence describing her, you use es amable, not empleada amable es.

Why is amable not changed to something like amabla to match empleada?

Some Spanish adjectives change with gender (alto / alta), but amable has one form for both masculine and feminine:

• El empleado es amable.
• La empleada es amable.

It only changes for number:

• Los empleados son amables.
• Las empleadas son amables.

What does con mean here? Could you use another preposition instead?

Con means “with”:

• amable con los turistas = kind / nice to the tourists

In English you’d usually say nice to, but Spanish uses con in this kind of expression.

Other prepositions generally sound wrong or different here:

• amable para los turistas – would sound more like “kind for the tourists” (not natural here).
• amable hacia los turistas – could work, but is more formal/literary, like “kind towards the tourists.”

The normal everyday choice is amable con.

Why is it los turistas instead of las turistas?

Los is the masculine plural article. In Spanish, if a group is mixed (men and women), the masculine plural is used:

• all male tourists → los turistas
• all female tourists → las turistas
• mixed group → los turistas

So los turistas can mean “the tourists” in general or a mixed/unspecified group.

Why does turistas end in -a even though los turistas is masculine?

Some professions or role nouns end in -a for both masculine and feminine:

• el turista = the (male) tourist
• la turista = the (female) tourist

Plural:

• los turistas = (male or mixed group)
• las turistas = (female group)

So the ending -a here doesn’t automatically mean feminine; you look at the article (el / la / los / las) to know the gender.

Could you say La empleada es muy simpática con los turistas instead? What’s the difference between amable and simpática?

Yes, you can say:

• La empleada es muy simpática con los turistas.

Amable focuses on being kind, considerate, and helpful.
Simpática is more like pleasant, likable, friendly.

They overlap, but:

• amable → polite, helpful, considerate
• simpática → charming, pleasant, easy to like

You can use either, depending on what quality you want to stress.

How would the sentence change if there were several female employees?

You’d make the subject and adjective plural and feminine:

• La empleada es muy amable con los turistas. (1 woman)
• Las empleadas son muy amables con los turistas. (several women)

Changes:

• la → las
• empleada → empleadas
• es → son
• amable → amables

Can I use the indefinite article una here, like Una empleada es muy amable con los turistas?

Una empleada es muy amable con los turistas is grammatically correct but sounds unusual in isolation. It would typically mean:

• “One (particular) employee is very kind to the tourists” (implying there are others who are not, or you’re picking one out of several).

If you’re just making a general statement about a specific, known employee, you use the definite article:

• La empleada es muy amable… = The (known) employee is very kind…