ella es una
/eʝa es una/from spelling rules
The English phrase "she is a" is translated into Spanish as ella es una.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of ella (she), es (is, the third-person singular form of the verb *ser*) and una (a/an, feminine singular).
How does it change in a sentence?
If the noun following the phrase is masculine, you must use the masculine article un instead of una, even if the subject is female. Additionally, when describing a person's profession or nationality, the indefinite article una is typically omitted (for example, saying Ella es doctora instead of Ella es una doctora).
How do you pronounce it?
/eʝa es una/
Did you know?
- The verb es is a cognate of the English word 'is' and the Sanskrit word 'asti'. They all share a common ancestor from Proto-Indo-European that describes existence.
- Because una comes from the Latin word for 'one', using it before a profession can accidentally imply that she is the 'only' one of that kind. For example, ella es una doctora might suggest she is a 'one-of-a-kind' doctor rather than just a doctor.
- Using ella es una to describe a profession is often perceived as an Anglicism, meaning it sounds like a direct translation from English rather than natural Spanish.
Examples in context
- Ella es una puta.She is a whore.This example shows how to use the phrase with a derogatory term.Tatoeba #4471666 by DarkHollow, translation #864282 by Qt
- Ella es una belleza.She is a beauty.This sentence illustrates how the phrase describes a quality of beauty.Tatoeba #739351 by Shishir, translation #316605 by CK
- Ella es una soñadora.She is a dreamer.This sentence demonstrates using the phrase to describe a personality trait.Tatoeba #3287818 by cueyayotl, translation #3129252 by Hybrid
- Ella es una ingeniera talentosa.She is a talented engineer.
- Ella es una persona muy amable y respetada en la comunidad.She is a very kind and respected person in the community.
- Ella es una buena amiga.She is a good friend.
- Ella es una chica muy divertida y extrovertida.She is a very funny and outgoing girl.
- 58 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are talking about a mutual friend who is a doctor.
- Mateo¿Quién es tu amiga?Who is your friend?
- SofíaElla es una doctora excelente.She is an excellent doctor.
- Mateo¡Qué bien! Me alegro mucho.That's great! I'm very happy.
- SofíaSí, ella es una persona muy inteligente.Yes, she is a very intelligent person.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ella, es, una, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
