Learn Spanish (Spain): No bebo café por la noche.

No bebo café por la noche.

I don't drink coffee at night.

Breakdown of No bebo café por la noche.

Questions & Answers about No bebo café por la noche.

Why do we use por instead of en for 'at night'?

In Spain, it is standard to use por to indicate general parts of the day. You will always hear por la mañana, por la tarde, and por la noche to mean 'in the morning,' 'in the afternoon,' and 'at night.'

Could I say de la noche in this sentence?

No, you would only use de if you were giving a specific time. For example, if you said 'at ten at night,' it would be a las diez de la noche. Since there is no exact hour here, we must use por la noche.

Why isn't there an article like el or un before café?

When talking generally about consuming an uncountable noun, Spanish drops the article just like English does. You are talking about coffee as a general substance, not a specific cup (el café) or one single coffee order (un café).

Why does noche need the article la if café doesn't need an article?

The phrase por la noche is a fixed time expression. While English says 'at night' without an article, Spanish requires the definite article la for these specific parts of the day when combined with por.