Cuando entro en casa, procuro no pisar la alfombra con las botas sucias.

I

Breakdown of Cuando entro en casa, procuro no pisar la alfombra con las botas sucias.

• la casa: the house
• con: with
• cuando: when

Questions & Answers about Cuando entro en casa, procuro no pisar la alfombra con las botas sucias.

Why is entro in the present tense?

Because the sentence describes a habit or something that usually happens.

• Cuando entro en casa... means When / Whenever I come into the house...
• In Spanish, the present tense is very commonly used for repeated or habitual actions.

If you said Cuando entre en casa..., that would usually refer to a future occasion:

• Cuando entre en casa, me quitaré las botas. = When I come into the house, I’ll take off my boots.

So here, entro fits the idea of a general routine.

Why is it cuando entro en casa and not cuando entro a casa?

In Spain, entrar en is the most standard and natural pattern.

• entrar en casa = to go into / enter the house
• entrar a casa can be heard in some varieties of Spanish, especially in parts of Latin America, but it is less standard in Spain.

So for Peninsular Spanish, entro en casa is the safest choice.

Why does it say en casa and not a casa?