Breakdown of El gato es tan ágil que salta del sofá a la ventana sin esfuerzo.
ser
to be
el gato
the cat
la ventana
the window
que
that
a
to
de
from
tan
so
saltar
to jump
ágil
agile
el sofá
the couch
sin esfuerzo
effortlessly
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Questions & Answers about El gato es tan ágil que salta del sofá a la ventana sin esfuerzo.
Why is tan used instead of muy in “El gato es tan ágil que…”?
tan translates to so in English and is part of the tan … que structure (so … that). It emphasizes degree and introduces a result or consequence. muy simply means very and does not pair with que to show a consequence.
What does the tan … que structure mean and how does it work?
tan + adjective/adverb + que = so [adjective/adverb] that…
In your sentence:
• tan ágil = so agile
• que salta… = that it jumps…
Why do we say del sofá instead of de el sofá?
In Spanish, de + el always contracts to del when the article is masculine and singular.
Why is the preposition a used in “salta del sofá a la ventana”?
With saltar, a indicates the destination or target of the jump. It’s equivalent to English to in jumps to the window.
Could we say desde el sofá hasta la ventana instead?
Yes, desde el sofá hasta la ventana (from the couch to the window) is grammatically correct and emphasizes both start and end points. However, Spanish often shortens this to del sofá a la ventana.
Why is there no article in sin esfuerzo?
After sin (without), Spanish typically omits the article when speaking of an abstract or general notion. sin esfuerzo = effortlessly. Adding un (sin un esfuerzo) is possible but slightly changes the nuance to “without even one effort.”
Why isn’t the reflexive saltarse used here?
saltarse usually means “to skip” (as in skipping a step or class). To describe the cat performing the jump, you use the non-reflexive saltar.
Why is the quality described with the adjective ágil instead of an adverb ágilmente?
Here ágil describes a characteristic of el gato (“the cat is agile”). If you wanted to describe how the jumping is done, you could use ágilmente (“jumps agilely”), but in the example the focus is on the cat’s inherent agility.
What is the role of the accent in sofá?
sofá is an aguda (stress on the last syllable) ending in a vowel, so it requires a written accent on á to mark the stress according to Spanish orthography.