Breakdown of ¿Tienes el teléfono en el bolsillo?
Questions & Answers about ¿Tienes el teléfono en el bolsillo?
The English translation says "in", is that what en means here?
Exactly! In this lesson, we are using en to show location. Here it means "in" or "inside" the pocket. Just keep in mind that en is a very flexible word and can also mean "on" or "at" in other situations. Why does the Spanish sentence say el bolsillo (the pocket) instead of tu bolsillo (your pocket)?
In Spanish, it is much more common to use "the" (el or la) instead of "your" or "my" when talking about clothing and body parts. Because the verb tienes already tells us "you" are the one doing the action, Spanish speakers already know it is your pocket! Where is the word for "you" in this sentence?
It is built right into the verb! Tienes means "you have". Because the ending of the verb changes depending on who is doing the action, it is already clear who we are talking about, so the word tú (you) is usually left out. Is there a Spanish word for "Do" at the beginning of this question?
No, Spanish does not use helper words like "do" or "does" to ask questions. To turn a statement like "You have" into the question "Do you have?", you simply add the upside-down and regular question marks (¿ and ?) and make your voice go up at the end of the sentence. Learn ¿Tienes el teléfono en el bolsillo and more in Spanish
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