Breakdown of Empezamos a practicar jardinería en casa.
la casa
the house
en
in / on / at
practicar
to practice
a
to
empezar
to start / to begin
la jardinería
the gardening
Questions & Answers about Empezamos a practicar jardinería en casa.
Why do we need the word a between empezamos and practicar?
In Spanish, when you want to say you are "starting to do" something, you use the verb empezar followed by the preposition a and then an infinitive verb (the unconjugated form, like practicar). You can't just put the two verbs together directly like empezamos practicar; the a is always required as a bridge!
The translation says "We are starting", but couldn't empezamos also mean "we started" in the past tense?
Yes, great catch! For regular -ar verbs, the nosotros (we) form is spelled exactly the same in both the present tense (empezamos = we start) and the preterite past tense (empezamos = we started). You have to rely on context to know which one it is. In this isolated sentence, it can correctly translate to either!
If the English translation says "We are starting", why didn't we use estamos empezando?
In English, we almost always use the "-ing" form (present continuous) for actions happening around this time. In Spanish, the simple present tense (empezamos) is used much more broadly and can often translate to the English "-ing" form. While estamos empezando a practicar is also correct, using the simple present is very natural and common here.
Why does it say en casa instead of en la casa?
When you are talking about your own home, you just use the set phrase en casa, which translates perfectly to "at home". If you said en la casa, it would sound more like you are saying "in the house", referring to the physical building rather than the concept of home.
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