El árbol tiene sus raíces cerca del río.

In Spanish, singular countable nouns usually need an article, just like in English. Here, el árbol means the tree.

A useful detail: árbol is a masculine noun, so it takes el. You often have to learn the gender of nouns as part of the word:

• el árbol = the tree
• el río = the river

The accent mark shows where the stress goes: ÁR-bol.

Without the accent, Spanish stress rules would suggest a different pronunciation. So the written accent is there to make the pronunciation clear.

Because the subject is el árbol, which is singular: the tree.

So the verb tener has to agree with a singular third-person subject:

• yo tengo = I have
• tú tienes = you have
• él / ella / usted tiene = he / she / you have

Here:

• El árbol tiene... = The tree has...

Spanish usually prefers a possessive adjective before the noun when the owner is clear.

So:

• sus raíces = its roots / his roots / her roots / their roots

In this sentence, sus clearly refers to el árbol, so it means its roots.

You could say las raíces del árbol, and that is also correct, but it is less natural if the owner has just been mentioned and is already obvious.

Because raíces is plural.

The possessive adjective has to match the thing possessed, not the owner:

• su raíz = its root
• sus raíces = its roots

Even though árbol is singular, the noun being possessed is plural, so sus is needed.

Yes. Su/sus can mean:

• his
• her
• its
• your (formal singular)
• their
• sometimes your (plural, depending on variety)

You understand which one it means from the context. In El árbol tiene sus raíces..., the context makes it clear that sus means its.

No. Cerca normally needs de.

So you say:

• cerca del río = near the river
• cerca de la casa = near the house

Think of cerca de as a fixed expression meaning near.

Because de + el contracts to del in Spanish.

So:

• de + el = del
• a + el = al

That gives:

• cerca del río = near the river

But this contraction does not happen with la:

• cerca de la casa = near the house

Because a tree normally has more than one root, so Spanish uses the plural raíces.

Singular and plural:

• la raíz = the root
• las raíces = the roots

This is just the natural way to describe a tree’s root system.

This is the most neutral and natural word order in Spanish:

• El árbol = subject
• tiene = verb
• sus raíces = direct object
• cerca del río = location

Spanish word order is somewhat flexible, but this version sounds normal and clear. Other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Cerca del río, el árbol tiene sus raíces.

But that sounds more marked or literary. For everyday use, the original order is best.

It is pronounced roughly ra-EE-thes in much of Spain, because c before e is often pronounced like the th in think.

A couple of useful details:

• The stress falls on í: ra-Í-ces
• The written accent helps show that stress
• In many parts of Latin America, it would sound more like ra-EE-ses

The accent shows that the i and o are pronounced in separate syllables: rí-o.

So:

• río = river

The accent helps avoid reading it as one merged sound. It also marks the correct stress.

Yes, absolutely:

• El árbol tiene las raíces cerca del río.
• El árbol tiene las raíces del árbol... would sound repetitive and unnatural.
• El árbol tiene las raíces cerca del río is possible, but sus raíces is better because it clearly shows possession.

A very natural alternative is:

• Las raíces del árbol están cerca del río.

That changes the structure slightly from the tree has its roots... to the tree’s roots are..., but the idea is very similar.