Mi profesora dice que el ajedrez es una buena estrategia para entrenar la paciencia.

My teacher says that chess is a good strategy to train patience.

Breakdown of Mi profesora dice que el ajedrez es una buena estrategia para entrenar la paciencia.

• ser: to be
• bueno: good
• una: a
• mi: my
• para: to
• entrenar: to train
• que: that
• decir: to say
• la profesora: the teacher
• la paciencia: the patience
• el ajedrez: the chess
• la estrategia: the strategy

Questions & Answers about Mi profesora dice que el ajedrez es una buena estrategia para entrenar la paciencia.

Why do we say “Mi profesora dice que…” and not just “Mi profesora dice el ajedrez es…”?

In Spanish, when “decir” introduces a full clause (a whole sentence), you almost always need “que”:

• Mi profesora dice que el ajedrez es… = My teacher says that chess is…

You cannot drop “que” in Spanish the way you can often drop “that” in English.

• ❌ Mi profesora dice el ajedrez es… (incorrect)
• ✅ Mi profesora dice que el ajedrez es… (correct)

If “decir” is followed by a simple noun, not a full sentence, you don’t use “que”:

• Mi profesora dice la verdad. = My teacher tells the truth.

Why is it “Mi profesora” and not “Mi profesor”?

Spanish marks grammatical gender on many nouns that refer to people.

• profesor = male teacher
• profesora = female teacher

So:

• Mi profesor = my (male) teacher
• Mi profesora = my (female) teacher

If you know the teacher is a woman, you must say “mi profesora”. The possessive “mi” doesn’t change; only the noun does.

Why does it say “el ajedrez” with “el”, when in English we just say “chess”?

Spanish uses the definite article much more often than English, especially with:

• Abstract nouns
• Hobbies, sports, and games when used as general concepts

So:

• El ajedrez es difícil. = Chess is difficult.
• El fútbol es muy popular. = Football is very popular.

In English we usually drop the article: Chess is… But in Spanish, “el ajedrez” is the normal way to refer to chess in general.

Is “ajedrez” masculine or feminine, and can it be plural?

“Ajedrez” is:

• Masculine: el ajedrez
• Normally uncountable and singular: you don’t usually say “ajedreces”.

Some examples:

• Me gusta el ajedrez. = I like chess.
• Juego al ajedrez. = I play chess.

You almost never need a plural form; “ajedrez” is treated like an uncountable noun, similar to “chess” in English.

Why is the verb “es” (indicative) and not “sea” (subjunctive) after “dice que”?

With “decir que”, Spanish usually uses:

• Indicative (here, “es”) when the speaker is reporting information or a statement.
• Subjunctive (e.g. “que haga algo”) when “decir” means “to tell someone to do something” (a command/indirect order).

In your sentence:

• Mi profesora dice que el ajedrez es una buena estrategia…

This is just reporting what the teacher says as a statement, so indicative (es) is correct.

You would use subjunctive in a different structure, like:

• Mi profesora dice que juguemos al ajedrez. = My teacher tells us to play chess.

Why is it “es una buena estrategia” and not “es buena estrategia” or “es una estrategia buena”?

All three are technically possible, but they sound different:

1. es una buena estrategia
   – The most natural and common.
   – Neutral, everyday phrasing.

2. es buena estrategia
   – Also correct, a bit more concise or somewhat formal/written-sounding.
   – The meaning is almost the same; “a” is just omitted.

3. es una estrategia buena
   – Grammatically correct but sounds less natural and would put extra emphasis on “buena” (as opposed to “mala” or another quality).
   – Used more if you’re contrasting good vs bad strategy:

   • No es una estrategia mala; es una estrategia buena.

In normal speech, “es una buena estrategia” is the default choice.

Why is “buena” placed before “estrategia” instead of after it?

Adjectives in Spanish can usually go before or after the noun, but:

• Before the noun often sounds more natural for frequent, evaluative adjectives like bueno, malo, gran(de), etc.
• After the noun can sound more literal or contrastive.

So:

• una buena estrategia = a good strategy (normal, default)
• una estrategia buena = a strategy that is good (more contrastive, as opposed to a bad one)

In general evaluation, “buena estrategia” is the most idiomatic word order.

Why do we say “una buena estrategia para entrenar…” instead of “para la paciencia” or something like that?

Here “para entrenar la paciencia” explains the purpose of the strategy:

• una buena estrategia para entrenar la paciencia
  = a good strategy for training patience

If you said:

• una buena estrategia para la paciencia

it would be understood, but it’s less specific and sounds more like “a good strategy for patience” without clearly saying that the strategy is used to train or develop patience.

Using “para + infinitive” (para entrenar) is the typical way to say what something is used for / good for doing:

• Es un buen método para aprender español.
• Es una técnica para mejorar la memoria.

Why is it “para entrenar la paciencia” and not “para entrenando la paciencia”?

In Spanish, after a preposition (like para, de, sin, por, en), you must use the infinitive, not a gerund:

• ✅ para entrenar la paciencia
• ❌ para entrenando la paciencia

Compare:

• Gracias por ayudarme. (not por ayudándome)
• Antes de comer. (not de comiendo)

So “para entrenar” is the only correct option here.

Why is it “entrenar la paciencia” with “la” and not just “entrenar paciencia”?

In Spanish, abstract nouns are often used with the definite article when they are general concepts:

• La paciencia es importante. = Patience is important.
• La libertad es valiosa. = Freedom is valuable.

So:

• entrenar la paciencia = to train (one’s) patience

You can say “entrenar paciencia”, but it sounds a bit more technical or stylistic; the normal, natural phrasing is with “la”: entrenar la paciencia.

Can I say “Mi profesora dice que jugar al ajedrez es una buena estrategia…” instead of “el ajedrez es…”?

Yes, that is perfectly correct, just a bit more explicit:

• Mi profesora dice que el ajedrez es una buena estrategia…
  = My teacher says chess is a good strategy…

• Mi profesora dice que jugar al ajedrez es una buena estrategia…
  = My teacher says playing chess is a good strategy…

Both are natural. The second one focuses more clearly on the activity of playing chess rather than the game as an abstract concept.

Why is “entrenar” used with “paciencia”? Isn’t “entrenar” mainly for sports?

Literally, “entrenar” = to train, to coach (often in sports):

• Entrenar a los jugadores. = To train the players.

But it is very common in Spanish to use “entrenar” metaphorically for mental abilities or qualities, just like in English:

• entrenar la memoria = train your memory
• entrenar la concentración = train your concentration
• entrenar la paciencia = train patience

So this metaphorical use is natural and common, especially in contexts like education, psychology, or self-improvement.

Why is it “dice” and not another verb like “habla” or “cuenta”?

Different verbs of speaking have different uses:

• decir = to say / to tell (specific content)

  • Mi profesora dice que… = My teacher says that…

• hablar = to speak / to talk (more general, about speaking activity or topic)

  • Mi profesora habla de ajedrez. = My teacher talks about chess.

• contar = to tell (often a story, anecdote, joke)

  • Mi profesora cuenta una historia. = My teacher tells a story.

In your sentence, we are reporting a specific statement (what she says), so “decir que…” is the correct and most natural choice.

How do you pronounce “ajedrez” and “dice” in Spain?

In standard peninsular Spanish:

• ajedrez

  • Stress on the last syllable: a-je-DREZ
  • j = a strong h-like sound in the throat, similar to the ch in Scottish “loch”
  • z at the end = “th” sound like in English think
    → [a-he-DRETH] approximately

• dice

  • Stress on the first syllable: DI-ce
  • c before e = “th” sound in Spain
    → “DEE-the” approximately

In Latin America, the z and c before e/i are pronounced like “s” instead.