Breakdown of El secretario contesta el teléfono.
el teléfono
the phone
contestar
to answer
el secretario
the secretary
Questions & Answers about El secretario contesta el teléfono.
Why is it el secretario instead of la secretaria?
Nouns for professions change based on the person's gender in Spanish. Because this uses the masculine el secretario, we know the secretary is a man. If it were a woman, it would be la secretaria.
Does contesta mean 'to contest' or 'to argue'?
No, contestar is a false friend. It looks like the English word 'contest', but it actually means 'to answer' or 'to reply'.
Could I use responde instead of contesta?
Why isn't there an 'a' after contesta, like in contesta al teléfono?
You actually will hear both! In Spain, people often say contesta al teléfono. However, using it without the 'a' as a direct object (contesta el teléfono) is also correct and widely used.
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