La carnicera y la frutera hablan cada mañana, y a veces la pescadera toma café con ellas antes de abrir.

the morning

Breakdown of La carnicera y la frutera hablan cada mañana, y a veces la pescadera toma café con ellas antes de abrir.

• con: with
• a veces: sometimes
• y: and

Questions & Answers about La carnicera y la frutera hablan cada mañana, y a veces la pescadera toma café con ellas antes de abrir.

Why are the words carnicera, frutera, and pescadera all feminine?

They are feminine because the sentence is talking about female workers.

• el carnicero / la carnicera = the butcher
• el frutero / la frutera = the fruit seller / greengrocer
• el pescadero / la pescadera = the fishmonger

In Spanish, many profession words change ending to match the person’s gender. Here, all three are women, so the feminine forms are used.

Why does Spanish use la before each profession?

Spanish often uses the definite article with professions when talking about specific people:

• La carnicera y la frutera...

This means the butcher and the greengrocer/fruit seller.

Unlike English, Spanish very commonly includes the article before nouns in this kind of sentence. Also, when two different people are mentioned, it is normal to repeat the article before each noun.

Why is it hablan and not habla?

Because the subject is plural:

• La carnicera y la frutera = two people

So the verb must also be plural:

• hablan = they speak / they talk

If there were only one person, it would be:

• La carnicera habla = The butcher talks

What does cada mañana mean, and why is there no article?