Breakdown of En el comedor de la escuela, mi hermana pequeña come con sus amigas.
Questions & Answers about En el comedor de la escuela, mi hermana pequeña come con sus amigas.
Why is it En el comedor de la escuela and not Al comedor de la escuela?
Because en shows location, while a or al usually shows movement toward a place.
- En el comedor de la escuela = in the school dining hall / cafeteria
- Va al comedor de la escuela = She goes to the school dining hall
So in your sentence, the person is already there, and the sentence tells us where she eats.
What does comedor mean here?
Why does it say de la escuela?
Why is it mi hermana pequeña and not mi pequeña hermana?
In Spanish, adjectives often come after the noun, especially when they describe a basic, literal quality.
So:
With family words, pequeña after the noun often refers naturally to the younger or little sister.
If you say mi pequeña hermana, it sounds more marked or emotional, as if you are emphasizing affection, tenderness, or style, something like my dear little sister.
Why is there no la before mi hermana pequeña?
Because Spanish possessive adjectives like mi, tu, su, nuestro usually replace the article.
So you say:
- mi hermana = my sister
- not la mi hermana
This is different from English only in form, but it is completely normal in Spanish.
What form is come?
Come is the third person singular present indicative of comer = to eat.
Conjugation of comer in the present:
Since the subject is mi hermana pequeña, which is she, the verb form is come.
Why is the verb come in the present tense instead of something like está comiendo?
Spanish uses the simple present very often where English might use either eats or is eating, depending on context.
So come can mean:
- eats regularly / habitually
- is eating right now, if the context makes that clear
If you want to strongly emphasize that the action is happening right now, you could say:
But the original sentence is perfectly natural.
Why is it sus amigas? Does sus mean her, their, or your?
Yes — sus can mean several things depending on context:
- his
- her
- its
- your (formal singular)
- your (plural, in Spain usually vuestro/vuestra/vuestros/vuestras is also used)
- their
In this sentence, context tells us that sus amigas means her friends.
This is very common in Spanish: the possessive can be ambiguous unless the context makes it clear.
If needed, Spanish can clarify:
Why is it sus amigas and not su amigas?
Why is it amigas and not amigos?
Because amigas tells us the friends are female.
- amiga = female friend
- amigas = female friends
- amigos = male friends, or a mixed group of males and females
So the sentence specifically says she eats with her girl friends.
What is the function of con in this sentence?
Con means with.
So:
- come con sus amigas = she eats with her friends
It shows company here — who she is eating together with.
Why is there a comma after En el comedor de la escuela?
The comma separates the opening location phrase from the main part of the sentence.
This gives a slight pause and highlights the setting first: In the school dining hall, ...
You could also say:
- Mi hermana pequeña come con sus amigas en el comedor de la escuela.
That version is also natural. The meaning is basically the same, but the focus changes slightly.
Could the word order be changed?
Yes. Spanish word order is often more flexible than English, especially with time and place phrases.
For example, all of these are natural:
- En el comedor de la escuela, mi hermana pequeña come con sus amigas.
- Mi hermana pequeña come con sus amigas en el comedor de la escuela.
- Mi hermana pequeña come en el comedor de la escuela con sus amigas.
They all mean roughly the same thing, but the first one puts more attention on where the action happens.
Does escuela sound natural in Spain, or would colegio be more common?
Both exist, but in Spain, colegio is often more common for a primary school, while escuela is also correct and widely understood.
Depending on context:
- colegio often suggests school
- escuela can mean school in general, and it is also used in many set expressions
So the sentence is correct, but in some situations a speaker from Spain might also say:
Both are natural Spanish.
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