Mi abuela me contó una leyenda antigua que habla de un gigante que podía saltar montañas.

My grandmother told me an ancient legend about a giant that could jump over mountains.

Breakdown of Mi abuela me contó una leyenda antigua que habla de un gigante que podía saltar montañas.

• hablar: to speak
• mi: my
• que: that
• me: me
• la montaña: the mountain
• poder: to be able
• contar: to tell
• un: a
• de: about
• la leyenda: the legend
• la abuela: the grandmother
• una: an
• antiguo: ancient
• el gigante: the giant
• saltar: to jump

Questions & Answers about Mi abuela me contó una leyenda antigua que habla de un gigante que podía saltar montañas.

What does the pronoun me in "Mi abuela me contó" indicate?

It indicates that the grandmother told the story to me. In this sentence, me is an indirect object pronoun showing who received the information—the speaker.

Why is antigua placed after leyenda in "una leyenda antigua" instead of before it?

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives typically follow the noun. Placing antigua after leyenda simply describes the legend as old or ancient. When adjectives appear before the noun, they often add a subjective or poetic nuance, but here the standard post-nominal order is used for a factual description.

What is the function of the relative pronoun que in the clauses "que habla de un gigante" and "que podía saltar montañas"?

The word que introduces relative clauses that give additional information. In "una leyenda antigua que habla de un gigante," que connects the clause to leyenda, explaining what kind of legend it is. Similarly, in "un gigante que podía saltar montañas," it introduces more details about the giant’s ability.

Why is the imperfect form podía used in "que podía saltar montañas" instead of the preterite form like pudo?

The imperfect form podía is used to describe an ongoing or inherent characteristic in the past. It conveys that the giant had the ability to jump mountains as a habitual or descriptive quality within the legend, rather than highlighting a single, completed action which would typically use the preterite.

Who is the implied subject of the clause "que habla de un gigante," and how does this structure affect the sentence’s meaning?

The implied subject of "que habla de un gigante" is leyenda. This relative clause explains that the legend itself tells or recounts a story about a giant, which is key to understanding the content of the legend.