Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): El cajero automático donde saco dinero a veces no imprime el recibo. - The ATM where I withdraw money sometimes doesn’t print the receipt.

People do sometimes shorten it to el cajero in context when it’s obvious they mean the machine, but to avoid confusion (especially in Spain) it’s safer to say cajero automático when you mean an ATM.

In much of Latin America, cajero alone is more commonly used for the machine, but your sentence is in Peninsular Spanish, so cajero automático is the clearest choice.

Why is it donde saco dinero and not donde saco el dinero?

Dinero is a mass (uncountable) noun. When you talk about money in a general, habitual way, Spanish often omits the article:

saco dinero = I withdraw money (in general, whenever I use it)
saco el dinero = I withdraw the money (a specific sum or the money we already have in mind)

In the sentence, you’re describing a habitual action, not one specific amount of money, so saco dinero is the natural choice. Using el dinero would sound like you’re talking about a particular pot of money that’s already been identified.

What is donde doing here? Why not que or en que?

Here donde is a relative adverb meaning where. It introduces a relative clause that describes the ATM:

El cajero automático donde saco dinero…
= The ATM *where I withdraw money…*

You cannot use que by itself for a place like this. You would need a preposition:

✔ el cajero automático en el que saco dinero
✔ el cajero automático donde saco dinero

In practice:

donde ≈ en el que / en el cual
donde is shorter and more natural in everyday speech.

So donde includes the sense of en; you don’t add en separately before donde in this structure.

Could I say en donde saco dinero instead of donde saco dinero?

Yes, grammatically you can:

el cajero automático en donde saco dinero

However:

In Spain, in this type of relative clause, donde alone is more usual and sounds more natural: el cajero automático donde saco dinero.
En donde is more common in some Latin American varieties and can sometimes sound a bit more formal or emphatic.

For standard Peninsular Spanish, prefer donde here.

Why is it just saco dinero and not saco dinero del cajero automático?

Because the relative clause already tells you which ATM it is by saying what you do there. The structure is:

el cajero automático (the ATM)
donde saco dinero (where I withdraw money)

If you said:

El cajero automático de donde saco dinero del cajero automático…

you’d be repeating information and making the sentence clumsy. The relative clause already implies from that ATM.

Why is the subject pronoun yo omitted in saco dinero?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are usually dropped because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is:

saco = I withdraw
sacas = you withdraw
saca = he/she/it withdraws

So:

(Yo) saco dinero → normally just saco dinero

You include yo only for emphasis or contrast, for example:

Yo saco dinero en este cajero, pero mi hermana no.
I withdraw money at this ATM, but my sister doesn’t.

In your sentence there’s no contrast, so omitting yo is standard.

Can a veces go in other positions in this sentence?

Yes. A veces (sometimes) is quite flexible. Common options:

A veces el cajero automático donde saco dinero no imprime el recibo.
– Very natural: starts with a veces, emphasising the frequency.
El cajero automático donde saco dinero a veces no imprime el recibo.
– Also natural (your version). The “sometimes” sits between the place info and the main verb.
El cajero automático donde saco dinero no imprime el recibo a veces.
– Grammatically possible, but less common and can sound a bit tacked on at the end, as an afterthought.

The most typical in everyday speech would probably be (1) or your original (2).

Why is imprime in the present tense? Could I say no está imprimiendo?

Spanish uses the simple present a lot more than English to talk about:

habits and repeated situations
general truths

So:

El cajero automático… a veces no imprime el recibo.
= The ATM sometimes doesn’t print the receipt. (habitual behaviour)

Está imprimiendo (present continuous) is used for an action in progress right now:

El cajero automático está imprimiendo el recibo.
The ATM is printing the receipt (right now).

If you said:

El cajero automático donde saco dinero no está imprimiendo el recibo.

this would usually mean: right now, it isn’t printing the receipt, not a general “sometimes it doesn’t print it”. For your general statement, the simple present no imprime is the correct and natural tense.

Why is it no imprime el recibo and not no imprime un recibo?

Because we’re talking about the specific receipt that you expect from a transaction.

el recibo = the receipt (the one expected from this withdrawal)
un recibo = a receipt (any receipt, non‑specific)

At an ATM, every transaction normally generates that receipt, so using the definite article (el) is more natural:

…a veces no imprime el recibo.
= sometimes it doesn’t print the (expected) receipt.

Using un recibo would sound less natural here and would slightly change the nuance to “it sometimes doesn’t print a receipt”, as if you’re not referring to a specific, expected receipt.

What does recibo mean in Spain? Could I say ticket instead?

In Spain:

recibo = receipt, especially:
- for bills (electricity, water): el recibo de la luz
- for official / bank things: ATM receipts, bank payment slips
ticket (often pronounced like English) = shop till receipt:
- ¿Quieres el ticket? in a supermarket or clothes shop

For an ATM:

recibo is perfectly normal.
You might also hear justificante or comprobante in more formal/banking contexts.

Saying ticket for an ATM receipt in Spain would be understood, but recibo or justificante sound more typical in that context.

Why isn’t there an indirect object pronoun, like no me imprime el recibo?

In your sentence:

Subject: el cajero automático
Verb: imprime
Direct object: el recibo

So no imprime el recibo = it doesn’t print the receipt.

You can add an indirect object pronoun to mark for whom the receipt is (me, you, etc.):

No me imprime el recibo.
= It doesn’t print the receipt for me.
No le imprime el recibo.
= It doesn’t print the receipt for him/her.

The version sin pronombre (without me, te, etc.) is more neutral and focuses just on the action and the receipt itself. Adding me would slightly emphasise that you are the affected person. Grammatically, both are fine; they just focus on different things.

Could I say El cajero automático del que saco dinero a veces no imprime el recibo? Is that the same?

Yes, this is grammatically correct and very natural:

del que = de + el que = from which

So:

El cajero automático del que saco dinero…
= The ATM *from which I withdraw money…*

This version is slightly more formal/explicit than donde saco dinero, which is shorter and more colloquial. The meaning is essentially the same; you just choose between:

donde saco dinero (more everyday)
del que saco dinero (a bit more formal / written style)

Is word order like El cajero automático no imprime a veces el recibo correct?

It’s grammatically possible, but it sounds unnatural.

In Spanish, adverbs like a veces normally go:

at the beginning: A veces el cajero automático no imprime el recibo.
or between subject and verb: El cajero automático a veces no imprime el recibo.

Placing a veces between imprime and el recibo breaks the natural rhythm:

El cajero automático no imprime a veces el recibo. → sounds odd / marked.

So, it’s better to keep a veces near the subject or at the very start.

Why is it el cajero automático and not un cajero automático?

This is the definite vs. indefinite article difference:

el cajero automático = the ATM (a specific one that you and/or the listener can identify: maybe your usual ATM)
un cajero automático = an ATM (any ATM, non‑specific)

Your sentence suggests you’re talking about a particular, known ATM (for example, the one near your house that you normally use):

El cajero automático donde saco dinero…
= The ATM where I withdraw money… (that specific one I use)

If you said:

Un cajero automático donde saco dinero a veces no imprime el recibo.

it would sound more like: There’s an ATM I use where sometimes it doesn’t print the receipt, introducing it as one of many possible ATMs, not one both speakers already know about.