Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): El jabón nuevo huele a limón y deja mis manos muy limpias. - The new soap smells like lemon and leaves my hands very clean.

In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun they modify. Placing nuevo after jabón is the neutral, default position. If you put nuevo before jabón, it can add emphasis or a stylistic nuance (“the brand‐new soap” vs. “new soap” in English), but the usual order is noun + adjective.

What does huele a limón literally mean, and why do we use a here?

The verb oler means “to smell.” When you want to say something “smells like” or “smells of” something else, you use oler a + [noun]. So huele a limón literally means “it smells of lemon” or “it smells like lemon.” The preposition a introduces the scent you’re comparing to.

Can I say huele limón instead of huele a limón?

No. Saying huele limón without a would sound ungrammatical or imply you’re literally smelling lemons, not that the object has a lemon scent. To express “it has the smell of lemon,” you must include the a: huele a limón.

Why do we use deja to translate “leaves” in “leaves my hands very clean”?

In Spanish, dejar can mean “to leave (something in a certain state).” So deja mis manos muy limpias literally means “it leaves my hands very clean.” This is a common construction for results or effects:
• Sujet o + dejar + objeto directo + adjetivo.

Why is it mis manos and not just manos?

Mis is the first‐person plural possessive adjective, so mis manos means “my hands.” If you omitted mis, you’d just say “hands,” without specifying whose. Possessives are often used when talking about body parts in everyday Spanish.

The adjective limpias ends in -as. Why?

Adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Manos is feminine plural, so limpias also takes the feminine plural ending -as.

Could I say limpísimo instead of muy limpias to mean “very clean”?

You could say deja mis manos limpísimas, using the superlative form limpísimo/limpísima to intensify “clean,” but you’d need to match gender and number: limpísimas. Both muy limpias and limpísimas work, but muy limpias is more common in everyday speech.

What’s the difference between huele bien and huele a limón?

• huele bien means “it smells good” in a general sense, without specifying the scent.
• huele a limón specifies that the smell is lemony. You can combine them if you want: El jabón nuevo huele a limón y huele muy bien.

Can I say deja muy limpias mis manos instead of deja mis manos muy limpias?

While both orders are understandable, the most natural and typical word order in Spanish is dejar + object + adverb/adjective: deja mis manos muy limpias. Putting muy limpias before mis manos would sound odd or poetic.