Spanish Phrase
Los profes enseñan a los alumnos.
Meaning
The sentence means ‘The teachers teach the students.’ It describes a habitual or current activity in a classroom setting. The word ‘profes’ is informal, so the tone is casual, typical of student‑to‑student conversation.
When to use
Use this sentence when you want to talk about what teachers are doing in a school, especially in informal contexts such as chatting with classmates, writing a diary entry, or describing a typical school day.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Losprofesenseñanalosalumnos.
Definite article (Los)
Los is the masculine plural definite article, used before plural nouns like profes and alumnos.
Colloquial noun (profes)
Profess is an informal shortening of profesores, common among students in Spain.
Verb conjugation (enseñan)
Enseñar is a regular -ar verb; enseñan is the third‑person plural present tense, matching the plural subject los profes.
Personal a
The preposition a is placed before a specific, animate direct object (los alumnos) to mark it as a person.
Plural noun (alumnos)
Alumnos means ‘students’; it is masculine plural and takes the article los.
🗨In Conversation
¿Qué hacen los profes ahora?
What are the teachers doing now?
Los profes enseñan a los alumnos.
The teachers are teaching the students.
✕Common Mistakes
Los profes enseña a los alumnos.
The verb must agree with the plural subject los profes; enseñan is the correct form.
El profes enseñan a los alumnos.
Los is the correct plural article; el is singular.
Los profes enseñan a los alumno.
Alumnos is plural, so the article must be los.
Los profes enseñan los alumnos.
When the direct object is animate, the personal a is required before los alumnos.
↔Alternatives
Los profesores enseñan a los estudiantes.
The teachers teach the students.
Los maestros imparten clases a los alumnos.
The teachers give lessons to the students.
Los docentes instruyen a los alumnos.
The teachers instruct the students.
Cultural Tip
In Spain, students often call their teachers ‘profes’ as a friendly shorthand; in Latin America the full form ‘profesores’ is more common. Also, ‘alumnos’ is the standard term for school‑age learners, while ‘estudiantes’ can refer to learners at any level, including university. Remember to keep the personal a before los alumnos, otherwise the sentence sounds ungrammatical to native ears.