Breakdown of Pienso en el problema.
el problema
the problem
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
pensar
to think
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Questions & Answers about Pienso en el problema.
Why is the verb pienso instead of "penso"?
Pienso comes from the verb pensar (to think). This is a stem-changing verb. When you conjugate it in the present tense, the e in the stem changes to ie for most forms, including the "I" form (yo pienso).
The English translation says "about," so why does the Spanish sentence use en?
While en usually means "in" or "on," Spanish verbs often pair with specific prepositions that don't match English exactly. To say you are "thinking about" something or someone, Spanish always uses the phrase pensar en.
Why does it say el problema? Doesn't the "-a" ending make it feminine?
Most words ending in "-a" are feminine, but problema is a very common exception. Many Spanish words ending in -ma are originally from Greek and are masculine. That is why it uses the masculine word for "the," making it el problema.