La vista en la montaña es bonita.

The view on the mountain is pretty.

Breakdown of La vista en la montaña es bonita.

• ser: to be
• en: on
• la montaña: the mountain
• la vista: the view
• bonito: pretty

Questions & Answers about La vista en la montaña es bonita.

Why is it la vista and not el vista?

In Spanish, the noun vista (meaning “view”) is always feminine, so it takes the feminine article la. Nouns in Spanish generally have an arbitrary grammatical gender, and vista just happens to be feminine. There’s no meaning-based rule in play here; it’s simply a matter of memorizing that vista is feminine.

Why do we say en la montaña instead of de la montaña?

Saying en la montaña implies that you’re located on or in the context of the mountain, while de la montaña could be interpreted as belonging to the mountain itself. If you want to say “The view from the mountain,” you might use desde la montaña to emphasize origin or starting point. However, en la montaña is perfectly natural if you’re describing a view found up in the mountains.

Why is the verb es used instead of está?

In this context, es bonita describes an inherent characteristic of the view (it’s generally and consistently pretty). If you used está bonita, that might suggest a more temporary state—for example, if the view is unusually beautiful today for some reason. Since we’re talking about the view’s inherent quality, ser is more appropriate.

How do I know to use bonita and not bonito?

Adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Since vista is feminine, you need the feminine form of the adjective, which is bonita. If you are describing a masculine noun—for instance, el paisaje (the landscape)—you would use bonito instead.

Is there a difference between montaña, cerro, and sierra?

Yes, though the distinctions can vary depending on the region. Generally, montaña refers to a mountain in a broader sense. Cerro is often used for a hill or smaller mountain, especially in some parts of Latin America. Sierra can mean a mountain range. In everyday speech, montaña is a very standard term to use when referring to mountains.