Learn Spanish (Spain): Ella esperó en el mostrador.

Ella esperó en el mostrador.

She waited at the counter.

Breakdown of Ella esperó en el mostrador.

ella

she / her (after a preposition)

in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)

Questions & Answers about Ella esperó en el mostrador.

Why does esperó have an accent mark on the last letter?

The accent mark shows that this is the completed past tense (Pretérito Indefinido) for ella. Regular -ar verbs like esperar (to wait) change their ending to -ó for él, ella, and usted. It is very important to include the accent because without it, espero means I wait in the present tense!

Why is en translated as at instead of in?

The Spanish preposition en is very flexible and can mean in, on, or at. Context tells us which one to use in English. Since you do not typically stand inside a counter, at is the most natural translation for en el mostrador.

I thought esperar meant to hope. Can it mean to wait too?

Yes, esperar is a very useful verb that translates to to wait, to hope, or to expect depending on the context. Here, standing at a counter (un mostrador) tells us she waited.

Could we just say Esperó en el mostrador without Ella?

Yes, you can usually drop subject pronouns in Spanish. However, because the past tense form esperó can mean he waited, she waited, or you waited (formally), including ella makes it perfectly clear who did the action.