Question 1

What is the role of nos in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

nos is an indirect object pronoun meaning "to us." Because preguntar is a verb of communication, the tourist is directing their words to us. In Spanish, these pronouns usually go right before the conjugated verb, so the sentence structure literally reads as "The tourist to us asks the address."

Question 2

The English translation says "asks for". Why don't we use pedir here?

Accepted Answer

This is a very common mix-up! Use pedir when you are asking someone to hand you a physical object or do you a favor (like asking for a menu or asking for a glass of water). Use preguntar when you are asking a question to get information. Since the tourist wants information (the address), we use preguntar. Notice we also don't translate the English word "for" — the Spanish is simply pregunta la dirección (asks the address).

Question 3

Why does turista end in "a" if the article is el?

Accepted Answer

Words that describe people and end in -ista (like turista, dentista, artista) have the exact same spelling for both masculine and feminine. To show the gender, you only change the article: el turista for a male tourist, and la turista for a female tourist.

Question 4

Does dirección mean "address" or "direction"?

Accepted Answer

It can mean both! Depending on the context, la dirección can translate to "address" (like a street address) or "direction" (like north, south, or left). Here, the tourist is asking for a street address or how to get to a specific location.

El turista nos pregunta la dirección.

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