Learn Spanish (Latin America): Él mismo va a trapear el piso cuando termines. - He is going to mop the floor himself when you finish.

Él mismo va a trapear el piso cuando termines.

He is going to mop the floor himself when you finish.

Breakdown of Él mismo va a trapear el piso cuando termines.

Questions & Answers about Él mismo va a trapear el piso cuando termines.

Why do we say él mismo here instead of just él?

Mismo adds emphasis, just like 'himself' in the English translation. Saying Él mismo va a trapear means 'He himself is going to mop' (stressing that he will do it personally, rather than having someone else do it). Since él is singular and masculine, we use the matching form mismo.

Could I put mismo at the end of the sentence, like in English?

No, when used for emphasis with a person, mismo needs to go right next to the pronoun or noun it is emphasizing. So it must be Él mismo together at the beginning of the sentence, rather than at the end.

Why is termines in the subjunctive here instead of the normal present tense terminas?

We use the subjunctive after cuando when we are talking about an event that has not happened yet. Since you haven't finished yet (it is an anticipated future action), we use the subjunctive termines. If we were talking about a regular habit like 'He always mops when you finish', we would use the indicative terminas.

Is trapear the standard word for 'to mop'?