Learn Spanish (Spain): La propietaria no quiere cambiar el sofá. - The landlady does not want to change the sofa.

La propietaria no quiere cambiar el sofá.

The landlady does not want to change the sofa.

Breakdown of La propietaria no quiere cambiar el sofá.

no / not

querer

to want; to love (a person)

el sofá

the sofa

cambiar

to change / to exchange, to swap (one thing for another)

Questions & Answers about La propietaria no quiere cambiar el sofá.

Why is it el sofá when the word ends in "-a"?

In Spanish, most words ending in "-a" are feminine, but sofá is a masculine exception. That is why it uses el. Other common masculine words ending in "-a" you might know are el problema and el mapa.

Does propietaria always mean "landlady"?

Not necessarily. Propietaria literally means "owner" (related to propiedad, meaning "property"). While it means "landlady" when talking about a rented house or apartment, it can also refer to the female owner of a business, a car, or any other item.

Why isn't the verb cambiar conjugated here?

When you have two verbs working together to express a single idea, only the first one is conjugated. Here, quiere is conjugated to match la propietaria (she wants), so the second verb, cambiar (to change), must stay in its infinitive form.

Why does sofá need a written accent mark?

Words that end in a vowel usually have their spoken stress on the second-to-last syllable. To make the stress fall on the final syllable instead, Spanish uses a written accent mark, which is why it is spelled sofá.