La médica dice que debo guardar reposo en casa.

The doctor says that I must rest at home.

Breakdown of La médica dice que debo guardar reposo en casa.

• yo: I
• en: at
• que: that
• decir: to say

Questions & Answers about La médica dice que debo guardar reposo en casa.

Why is it la médica and not el médico?

Because the sentence is referring to a female doctor.

• el médico = the male doctor / the doctor
• la médica = the female doctor

In modern Spanish, especially in Spain, médica is a normal and standard feminine form. The article la and the ending -a both show that the doctor is a woman.

Why is there an article in la médica?

Here, la médica means the doctor, referring to a specific person.

Spanish often uses the definite article with professions when talking about a particular person:

• La médica dice... = The doctor says...
• El profesor llega tarde. = The teacher arrives late.

But after ser, professions often appear without an article:

• Es médica. = She is a doctor.

So the article is there because la médica is the subject of the sentence, not because professions always need an article.

Why do we need que after dice?

Because que introduces the reported statement:

• dice que debo guardar reposo = says that I must rest

In English, that is often optional:

• The doctor says that I must rest
• The doctor says I must rest

In Spanish, que is normally required in this structure. Leaving it out would sound wrong.