es donde o son donde o está donde?

Question

Hola a todos y feliz 2011!

I have a question that probably has a simple answer. In the audio I am transcribing, the Spanish speaker says

Los hospitales es donde las enfermeras trabajan.

I am wondering if this is typical in speech. I would think that it should be:

Los hospitales son donde las enfermeras trabajan.

But then since he is talking about a location, shouldn't he have said,

Los hospitales están donde las enfermeras trabajan.

I am wondering if I am missing a nuance in what was originally spoken, or if the speaker spoke grammatically incorrect Spanish. Thanks!

Good question. I shall watch this one. - webdunce, Jan 4, 2011

An excellent question. My guess is "Los hospitales son donde las enfermeras trabajan", but I want to see what the experts say. :) - 0066c384, Jan 4, 2011

Answer 1

Los hospitales son donde las enfermeras trabajan.

First of all, it has to be plural, as we're talking about hospitals.

And second, we're not talking about the location of the hospitals. We're talking about the place that the enfermeras work, so this falls under Classify, Identify, and Define.

It would be the same as if you said, "Los hospitales son los lugares en que las enfermas trabajan."