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El paciente está descansando porque tiene un virus.

El paciente está descansando porque tiene un virus.
The patient is resting because he has a virus.
From Lesson 202:Expressing hopes (ojalá que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El paciente está descansando porque tiene un virus.

Since we are learning about the subjunctive, why isn't it used in this sentence?
We use the subjunctive for things like wishes, doubts, or hopes (like after ojalá). This sentence is simply stating established facts: the patient is resting, and he has a virus. Because it is a declaration of reality, we use the regular indicative forms está and tiene.
Why use está descansando instead of just descansa?
Just like in English, the present progressive está descansando (is resting) emphasizes that the action is happening right now in this very moment. Descansa could just mean he rests in general, but this form makes it clear this is his current, ongoing state.
Paciente ends in -e. How do we know if it's masculine or feminine?
Paciente is a noun where the word itself doesn't change based on gender. You use the article to show the gender instead: el paciente for a male patient and la paciente for a female patient. Here, el tells us this specific patient is male.
Is virus the same in singular and plural?
Yes! Because virus ends in an -s and the spoken stress is on the first syllable, the word itself doesn't change in the plural. You just change the article or adjective around it, for example, moving from un virus to los virus.

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