Learn Spanish (Latin America): Yo voy a la piscina y ella va al mercado. - I go to the pool and she goes to the market.

Yo voy a la piscina y ella va al mercado.

I go to the pool and she goes to the market.

Breakdown of Yo voy a la piscina y ella va al mercado.

Questions & Answers about Yo voy a la piscina y ella va al mercado.

Why does the sentence use a la before piscina but al before mercado?

This happens because piscina is a feminine word and mercado is masculine. For feminine places, the preposition a (to) and the article la (the) stay separate: a la piscina. But for masculine places, a and el crash together and form the mandatory contraction al: al mercado.

Why do the verbs look so different (voy vs va) if they both mean "to go"?

The verb ir (to go) is highly irregular, meaning it doesn't follow the normal pattern for verbs. You have to memorize its forms: voy always goes with yo (I), and va goes with ella, él, or usted (she, he, or you formal).

Are the words yo and ella absolutely necessary here?

Not necessarily, but they are very helpful! Because voy can only mean "I go", dropping yo is perfectly fine. However, va can mean "she goes", "he goes", or "you go", so keeping ella clarifies exactly who is going. Using both words here also creates a nice, clear contrast between the two people.

Is the word always required when talking about going somewhere?