Breakdown of Es difícil decidir cuándo especializarse en medicina.
ser
to be
en
in / on / at
decidir
to decide
cuándo
when
difícil
difficult
la medicina
the medicine
especializarse
to specialize
Questions & Answers about Es difícil decidir cuándo especializarse en medicina.
How does 'cuándo especializarse' work here to mean 'when to specialize'?
In Spanish, just like in English, you can combine a question word (like cuándo, dónde, or qué) directly with an infinitive verb (like especializarse) to express an indirect question. We use the infinitive here because the sentence is making a general statement about deciding, rather than saying that a specific person is doing it.
Why does cuándo have an accent mark if this isn't a direct question?
Question words like cuándo, qué, and dónde always keep their written accent marks when they introduce an indirect question. Even though there are no question marks, the phrase implies a question (deciding when), so cuándo keeps its accent to distinguish it from the standard linking word cuando (which means whenever or when).
Why is the pronoun se attached to the end of especializarse, and why use se?
The verb for 'to specialize' is reflexive in Spanish: especializarse. When a verb is in its infinitive form, object pronouns must be attached directly to the end of it. Because this sentence is a general, impersonal statement that applies to anyone, we use the third-person general pronoun se.
Why don't we need the article la before medicina?
When talking about academic subjects or professional fields directly after prepositions like en (or action verbs like estudiar), Spanish usually omits the definite article. Therefore, it is simply en medicina rather than en la medicina.
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