Learn Spanish (Spain): En la frutería las naranjas son baratas. - At the greengrocer's the oranges are cheap.

En la frutería las naranjas son baratas.

At the greengrocer's the oranges are cheap.

Breakdown of En la frutería las naranjas son baratas.

ser

to be

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

Questions & Answers about En la frutería las naranjas son baratas.

Why is "at" translated as En instead of A here?

In English, we say "at" a location, which might tempt you to use a. However, in Spanish, a is mostly used for movement or direction (like going to a place). When you are physically located inside or at a place, you use en.

Does the ending -ería in frutería have a special meaning?

Yes! The ending -ería is very commonly added to a word to name the shop that sells that item. Since fruta means fruit, a frutería is a fruit shop or greengrocer. You will also see this in words like panadería (bakery, from pan) and carnicería (butcher, from carne).

Why do we use son instead of están for the price? Don't prices change?

This is a tricky spot for learners because prices do change! However, being cheap (barato) or expensive (caro) is usually treated as a general characteristic of the item in Spanish, so we use the verb ser (son). You might sometimes hear locals use están to emphasize a temporary discount, but son baratas is the standard rule.

Why does baratas end in -as?