Mi hermano entrena cada día para la carrera.

the day

Breakdown of Mi hermano entrena cada día para la carrera.

• mi: my
• para: for
• entrenar: to train

Questions & Answers about Mi hermano entrena cada día para la carrera.

Why is there no subject pronoun (like él) before entrena?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Entrena is the 3rd person singular form of entrenar, so it already tells us he/she trains.
• Mi hermano is right before the verb, so it’s completely clear who is doing the action.

You could say Mi hermano él entrena cada día…, but in normal Spanish that sounds redundant or emphatic, almost like saying: My brother, he trains every day…. The natural version is simply:

• Mi hermano entrena cada día para la carrera.

Why is entrena (simple present) used instead of something like está entrenando?

Spanish uses the simple present tense much more than English for habits and routines.

• Mi hermano entrena cada día… = My brother trains / works out every day…
  This describes a regular habit.

You would use está entrenando (present continuous) mainly to talk about what he is doing right now or in this period:

• Mi hermano está entrenando para la carrera.
  = My brother is training for the race (these days / currently).

English often uses is training for both habits and current activity, but Spanish prefers:

• Simple present (entrena) for habits
• Continuous (está entrenando) for actions in progress or temporary situations