La cafetería está cerca de la biblioteca.

Because both cafetería and biblioteca are feminine singular nouns in Spanish, so they take the feminine singular definite article la.

• la cafetería = the café / cafeteria
• la biblioteca = the library

A lot of nouns ending in -a are feminine, though there are exceptions.

Spanish uses estar for location. Since the sentence is saying where the café is located, estar is the correct verb:

• La cafetería está cerca de la biblioteca.

A very useful rule for learners is:

• ser = what something is
• estar = where something is or how it is

So for places and positions, use estar.

Está is the third person singular form of estar in the present tense.

Full present-tense conjugation of estar:

• yo estoy = I am
• tú estás = you are
• él/ella/usted está = he/she/you are
• nosotros/nosotras estamos = we are
• vosotros/vosotras estáis = you all are
• ellos/ellas/ustedes están = they/you all are

Here, la cafetería is singular, so Spanish uses está.

The accent mark shows where the stress goes: ca-fe-te-RÍ-a.

Without the accent, Spanish pronunciation rules would stress the word differently. The written accent tells you the stressed syllable clearly.

This accent mark is part of the correct spelling, so it should always be written:

• cafetería ✅
• cafeteria ❌ in Spanish

The accent mark in está helps distinguish it from esta.

• está = is (verb form of estar)
• esta = this (feminine demonstrative before a noun, as in esta biblioteca = this library)

So the accent is important because it changes the word’s grammatical function.

Because cerca normally needs de before the place or thing it refers to.

So you say:

• cerca de la biblioteca = near the library
• cerca del museo = near the museum

Think of cerca de as a fixed expression meaning near.

Not very naturally. It is better to learn it as a unit:

• cerca de = near / close to

Word-for-word, cerca is related to near/close, and de often means of/from, but in this expression the natural English translation is simply near or close to.

Spanish just uses a different structure. Instead of close to, it says cerca de.

Languages often package prepositions differently, so it is best not to force a one-to-one translation. Just remember:

• near the library = cerca de la biblioteca

This is the most neutral and natural Spanish word order:

• subject: La cafetería
• verb: está
• location expression: cerca de la biblioteca

Spanish word order is often similar to English in simple sentences like this. You could change the order for emphasis in some contexts, but this version is the standard one.

You could, but it sounds marked or unusual in most normal contexts. It might be used for emphasis, contrast, or in a very specific discourse context.

For a learner, the best default is:

• La cafetería está cerca de la biblioteca.

Biblioteca means library, not bookshop.

This is important because English speakers sometimes confuse it with words related to books.

• biblioteca = library
• librería = bookshop / bookstore

So:

• la biblioteca = the library
• la librería = the bookshop

In Spain Spanish, it is roughly:

bee-blee-oh-TEH-kah

The stress is on te: biblioTEca.

A rough syllable breakdown:

• bi-blio-te-ca

The c before a sounds like a normal k sound.

In Spain Spanish, roughly:

ka-fe-te-ree-AH

The stress is on the -rí- syllable:

• ca-fe-te-RÍ-a

That final -ía is pronounced in separate syllables, not as one English-style sound.

Yes, depending on context, cafetería can refer to a place where you have coffee, drinks, and light food, so in many situations café is a very natural translation.

In some contexts it can also mean cafeteria, especially a more canteen-like place. The exact English choice depends on the setting.

Spanish uses articles very regularly, and in this sentence both nouns need their own article:

• La cafetería
• la biblioteca

That is completely normal in Spanish. You should not try to drop the second la.

The article would change from la to el, but the rest of the structure would stay the same.

For example:

• El museo está cerca de la biblioteca. = The museum is near the library.

Also notice that de + el usually contracts to del:

• La cafetería está cerca del museo. = The café is near the museum.

But de + la does not contract:

• cerca de la biblioteca ✅

Because only de + el contracts in standard Spanish:

• de + el = del
• de + la = de la

So:

• cerca del museo
• cerca de la biblioteca

This is a very common rule and worth memorising.

Yes, but they are not exactly the same.

• cerca de = near / close to
• próxima a = close to / near, often a bit more formal
• al lado de = next to / beside

So if the café is simply nearby, cerca de is perfect.
If it is immediately beside the library, al lado de is more precise.

Yes. It has everything needed for a full sentence:

• subject: La cafetería
• verb: está
• complement: cerca de la biblioteca

It is a complete, natural statement in Spanish.

Yes. It sounds natural and standard in Spain Spanish. It is a simple, everyday way to describe location.

A speaker in Spain would easily understand and use this sentence.