Breakdown of Tenemos que pagar a la comunidad este mes.
tener
to have
a
to
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
el mes
the month
pagar
to pay
este
this (m.sg., also esta, estos, estas, esto)
la comunidad
the homeowner association
Questions & Answers about Tenemos que pagar a la comunidad este mes.
Why does comunidad translate to "homeowner association" here instead of "community"?
In Spain, comunidad is everyday shorthand for comunidad de vecinos or comunidad de propietarios. It refers to the homeowner association or the collective residents of an apartment building. When people talk about paying la comunidad, they mean paying their monthly building maintenance fees.
Why is there an a before la comunidad?
The word comunidad is the indirect object here, representing the entity receiving the payment. With the verb pagar, the person, group, or entity you pay always takes the preposition a. If you were naming the thing being paid, such as a bill or fee, it would be a direct object without a, as in pagar el recibo.
Shouldn't we include the indirect object pronoun le, as in Tenemos que pagarle a la comunidad?
Adding le (either as Le tenemos que pagar or Tenemos que pagarle) is very common and perfectly correct, but it is not strictly required here. When the indirect object is an entity that comes after the verb rather than before it, Spanish allows you to drop the redundant pronoun.
Why don't we say en este mes for "in this month" or "this month"?
In Spanish, when referring to time periods using demonstrative adjectives like este, ese, or aquel, you generally do not use a preposition. Just as you say este lunes for "this Monday", you simply say este mes for "this month". Adding en would sound unnatural here.
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