Me da pena que la gasolinera del barrio cierre tan temprano los domingos.

Dar pena is a very common Spanish expression. Literally, it means to give sadness/pity, but in real use it often means to make someone feel sad, to be a shame, or to make someone feel sorry.

So:

• Me da pena que... = It makes me sad that...
• More literally: It gives me sadness that...

Spanish often uses this kind of structure where English might prefer a single verb.
You could say me entristece que..., but me da pena que... sounds very natural and everyday.

In this sentence, pena means something like sadness, regret, or a sense that something is a shame.

Pena can have several meanings depending on context, for example:

• sadness / sorrow
• pity
• embarrassment
• even penalty/punishment in legal contexts

But here, with me da pena que..., it clearly means:

• I feel sad that...
• I’m sorry that...
• It’s a shame that...

So this is an emotional reaction, not embarrassment and not punishment.

Because after me da pena que, Spanish normally uses the subjunctive.

Expressions of emotion such as:

• me da pena que...
• me alegra que...
• me molesta que...
• me sorprende que...

are usually followed by que + subjunctive.

So:

• cierra = present indicative
• cierre = present subjunctive

Here the speaker is reacting emotionally to the fact that the petrol station closes early, so Spanish uses:

• Me da pena que la gasolinera... cierre...

not:

• Me da pena que la gasolinera... cierra... ✘

Cerrar is a stem-changing verb: e > ie in many present forms.

Indicative:

• cierro
• cierras
• cierra
• cerramos
• cerráis
• cierran

Present subjunctive is built from the yo form (cierro) and then changing the endings:

• cierre
• cierres
• cierre
• cerremos
• cerréis
• cierren

So in this sentence:

• que la gasolinera cierre = that the petrol station closes

The que introduces the second clause: the thing that causes the emotion.

Structure:

• Me da pena = It makes me sad
• que la gasolinera del barrio cierre tan temprano los domingos = that the neighbourhood petrol station closes so early on Sundays

So que here means that.

This pattern is extremely common:

• Me alegra que vengas.
• Me molesta que hablen tan alto.
• Me da pena que cierre.

Del is a contraction of de + el:

• de el → del

So:

• la gasolinera del barrio = the petrol station of the neighbourhood
• more natural English: the neighbourhood petrol station or the local petrol station

Barrio usually means neighbourhood or district.

So the phrase suggests this is the petrol station in the speaker’s local area.

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same.

• muy temprano = very early
• tan temprano = so early

In this sentence, tan temprano sounds more emotional or evaluative. It fits well with me da pena because the speaker is reacting to the situation.

So:

• cierra muy temprano = it closes very early
• cierra tan temprano = it closes so early

The second one often feels more like I find that surprisingly or regrettably early.

Los domingos means on Sundays or every Sunday.

In Spanish, days of the week often take the definite article when speaking about habits or repeated actions:

• Los lunes trabajo desde casa. = On Mondays I work from home.
• Los domingos cierra temprano. = On Sundays it closes early.

So this sentence is not talking about one specific Sunday. It means this happens regularly.

If you wanted to refer to one specific Sunday, you would more likely say something like:

• el domingo

Spanish often does not use a dummy subject like English it.

English says:

• It makes me sad that...

Spanish simply says:

• Me da pena que...

The cause of the emotion is the whole que clause:

• que la gasolinera del barrio cierre tan temprano los domingos

So Spanish does not need an extra subject pronoun equivalent to English it here.

Me means to me or for me.

So:

• me da pena = it gives sadness to me / it makes me sad

This is an indirect object pronoun. Similar forms are:

• me = to me
• te = to you
• le = to him/her/you (formal)
• nos = to us
• os = to you all
• les = to them/you all (formal)

Examples:

• Me da pena = It makes me sad.
• Nos da pena = It makes us sad.
• Le da pena = It makes him/her sad.

Yes. A mí me da pena... is correct, but it adds emphasis or contrast.

• Me da pena que... = neutral, normal
• A mí me da pena que... = As for me, it makes me sad that... / I personally feel sad that...

You might use a mí if you are contrasting your opinion with someone else’s:

• A ellos no les importa, pero a mí me da pena que la gasolinera cierre tan temprano.

Without contrast or emphasis, the shorter me da pena is more natural.

It describes a habitual situation.

The clue is los domingos = on Sundays / every Sunday.

So the idea is:

• the petrol station regularly closes early on Sundays
• the speaker feels sad or thinks it’s a shame that this happens

Even though cierre is subjunctive, the time reference still comes from the context. Here it is a repeated present habit, not necessarily the future.

Yes, Spanish word order is fairly flexible, although some versions sound more natural than others.

Original:

• Me da pena que la gasolinera del barrio cierre tan temprano los domingos.

You could also hear:

• Me da pena que la gasolinera del barrio los domingos cierre tan temprano.
• Que la gasolinera del barrio cierre tan temprano los domingos me da pena.

But the original is the most natural and straightforward for everyday speech.

Spanish often keeps the emotional expression first:

• Me da pena que...
• Me alegra que...
• Me molesta que...

That way, the listener immediately knows the speaker’s attitude.

Gasolinera is standard Spanish and is very common in Spain for petrol station / gas station.

For an English speaker learning Spanish from Spain, gasolinera is exactly the right everyday word to know.

In English, the translation depends on the variety:

• British English: petrol station
• American English: gas station

So if you are learning Spanish as used in Spain, this word fits perfectly.