Breakdown of Mi hermano se dedica a la música.
el hermano
the brother
mi
my
la música
the music
a
to
dedicarse
to do for a living (¿a qué te dedicas?)
Questions & Answers about Mi hermano se dedica a la música.
Why does it say se dedica a instead of just "trabaja en"?
What is the purpose of the se in this sentence?
The se makes the verb dedicar reflexive. Without it, dedicar means to dedicate something else (like dedicating a song to a friend). By adding the reflexive pronoun se, it becomes dedicarse, meaning "to dedicate oneself", which is how Spanish expresses having an occupation.
Why is there a la before música when the English translation just says "music"?
In Spanish, when you talk about a general concept, an art form, or a category as a whole, you almost always need to include the definite article (el, la, los, or las). Because he is dedicating himself to music in a broad sense, we must say la música.
Do you always need the preposition a after dedicarse?
Yes! When you want to say what field or activity someone works in, the verb dedicarse is always followed by the preposition a. You are literally saying they dedicate themselves "to" that activity.
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