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¿Va tu abuelo al mercado?

¿Va tu abuelo al mercado?
Is your grandfather going to the market?
From Lesson 25:Destination (a, al)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about ¿Va tu abuelo al mercado?

Why do we use al instead of a el mercado?
al is a mandatory contraction. When the preposition a (to) is followed immediately by the masculine word for 'the', which is el, they merge into one word: al. You will never see a el written as two separate words in Spanish.
Where are the words for 'Is' and 'going' in this Spanish sentence?
In Spanish, the single verb va (from the verb ir, meaning 'to go') covers all of that! It translates to 'goes', 'does go', and 'is going'. You do not need a separate word for 'is' here.
Why is the verb Va placed before tu abuelo?
In Spanish questions, it is very common to switch the word order so the verb comes before the subject. Literally, this sentence asks 'Goes your grandfather to the market?'. However, you could also say ¿Tu abuelo va al mercado? just by raising your voice at the end.
Why doesn't tu have an accent mark here?
Without an accent, tu means 'your' (as in tu abuelo or 'your grandfather'). When it has an accent mark, tú means 'you' as the subject of a sentence.

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