Learn Spanish (Latin America): Mi hermano siempre va al gimnasio.

Mi hermano siempre va al gimnasio.

My brother always goes to the gym.

Breakdown of Mi hermano siempre va al gimnasio.

Questions & Answers about Mi hermano siempre va al gimnasio.

Why does the sentence use 'al' instead of just 'a'?

This lesson teaches ir a (to go to). However, the destination here is el gimnasio (the gym). In Spanish, whenever the preposition a (to) is immediately followed by the masculine word el (the), they must squeeze together to form the single word al. You will never see a el written separately!

What verb does 'va' come from?

va is the 'he/she/it' form of the verb ir (to go). ir is highly irregular, meaning it completely changes its spelling when you use it. Because the subject of our sentence is Mi hermano (My brother, which is a 'he'), we use va.

Can I put 'siempre' somewhere else in the sentence?

Usually, frequency words like siempre (always) go right before the verb, just like in English. So, siempre va is the most natural word order. However, Spanish is quite flexible, so you might also hear it at the very beginning or end of the sentence.

Why doesn't the 'g' in 'gimnasio' sound like a hard G?

In Spanish, the letter G makes a soft, breathy sound (very similar to an English H) whenever it comes immediately before the letters E or I. Because of this rule, the gi in gimnasio sounds like 'hee'.