Ojalá la niñera encuentre pronto el chupete azul, porque sin él la niña no quiere dormir.

Because ojalá usually introduces a wish or hope, and in this sentence that wish is about something not yet known or not yet achieved. That triggers the subjunctive:

• Ojalá la niñera encuentre... = Hopefully the nanny finds... / I hope the nanny finds...

So:

• encuentra = indicative, used for statements of fact
• encuentre = subjunctive, used here after ojalá

This is one of the most important things to remember about ojalá: it very often goes with the subjunctive.

Ojalá means something like:

• hopefully
• I hope
• let’s hope

Yes, you can also say ojalá que. Both are possible:

• Ojalá la niñera encuentre...
• Ojalá que la niñera encuentre...

In everyday Spanish, both are natural. The version without que is very common and slightly more compact.

They are different words:

• la niñera = the nanny / babysitter
• la niña = the girl

The ending -era in niñera helps distinguish it from niña. Even though they look similar, they refer to different people.

So in the sentence:

• la niñera is the person trying to find the pacifier
• la niña is the child who does not want to sleep

In Spanish, adjectives usually come after the noun, especially when they describe a basic, literal quality like color.

So:

• el chupete azul = the blue pacifier

This is the normal order:

• noun + adjective

Putting azul before the noun would sound unusual here and would not be the standard way to say it.

Because azul is one of many Spanish adjectives that do not change for masculine/feminine in the singular.

So you get:

• el chupete azul
• la manta azul

The adjective stays azul in both cases.

It does change in the plural:

• los chupetes azules
• las mantas azules

Pronto is an adverb meaning soon. It modifies the verb encuentre:

• encuentre pronto = find soon

Spanish adverbs are often flexible in position, but this placement is very natural:

• Ojalá la niñera encuentre pronto el chupete azul

You could also hear:

• Ojalá la niñera encuentre el chupete azul pronto

But the original version sounds smoother and more idiomatic.

These are different words:

• porque = because
• por qué = why

In this sentence, the second clause gives the reason:

• ..., porque sin él la niña no quiere dormir.
• ..., because without it the girl doesn’t want to sleep.

So porque is correct here.

After a preposition like sin, Spanish uses a prepositional pronoun, not a direct object pronoun.

So:

• sin él = without it / without him
• not sin lo

Also, él has an accent because it is a pronoun. Without the accent, el is just the article the.

Here él refers back to el chupete. Since chupete is masculine singular, the pronoun is él.

It can refer to a masculine noun, including an object, especially after a preposition.

Here, él refers to:

• el chupete

So:

• sin él = without it

In English we usually say it, but Spanish uses the same pronoun form that also means he when the antecedent is masculine.

Because after a conjugated verb like querer (to want), the next verb normally stays in the infinitive.

So:

• quiere dormir = wants to sleep

Not:

• quiere duerme ❌

This is the same pattern as in English:

• she wants to sleep
• not she wants sleeps

Sometimes yes, but the meaning shifts slightly.

• dormir = to sleep
• dormirse = to fall asleep / go to sleep

In this sentence:

• la niña no quiere dormir means she does not want to sleep

If you said:

• la niña no quiere dormirse

that would sound more like:

• she doesn’t want to fall asleep

Both can make sense depending on context, but dormir is a straightforward, natural choice here.

Yes, Spanish often omits subject pronouns like ella, él, yo, etc., because the verb ending usually shows who the subject is.

But here the sentence uses full noun subjects:

• la niñera
• la niña

They are included for clarity, because there are two different female people in the sentence. If you removed them or replaced them too much with pronouns, it could become confusing.

Yes, chupete is very common in Spain for pacifier.

In other Spanish-speaking countries, other words are also used, such as:

• chupón
• pacificador
• bobo
• others depending on the region

So if you are learning Spanish from Spain, chupete is exactly the kind of word you want.

The comma separates the main wish from the reason that follows:

• Ojalá la niñera encuentre pronto el chupete azul, porque...

This kind of comma is common when the second part adds an explanation. In short sentences, some punctuation choices can vary a bit, but the comma here looks natural and helps readability.

The sentence as given is already very natural. Spanish does allow some flexibility in word order, but:

• Ojalá la niñera encuentre pronto el chupete azul...

is a standard, idiomatic way to say it.

You could also say:

• Ojalá encuentre pronto la niñera el chupete azul...

but that sounds less neutral and more marked. For learners, the original order is the best model.