Mi objetivo principal es descansar con mi familia.

to be

Breakdown of Mi objetivo principal es descansar con mi familia.

• con: with
• mi: my
• la familia: the family

Questions & Answers about Mi objetivo principal es descansar con mi familia.

Why does principal come after objetivo here? In English we say main goal, not goal main.

In Spanish, most adjectives normally go after the noun, so objetivo principal is the default, neutral order.

With this adjective you have two correct options:

• Mi objetivo principal (more neutral, very common)
• Mi principal objetivo (puts a bit more emphasis on principal, a bit more formal or rhetorical)

Both are fine in Latin American Spanish. The version in the sentence is simply the most standard-sounding one.

Could I say Mi principal objetivo es descansar con mi familia instead? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say Mi principal objetivo es descansar con mi familia, and it is correct.

The meaning is basically the same. The difference is very subtle:

• Mi objetivo principal… feels like neutral information.
• Mi principal objetivo… slightly highlights that this is the most important of several objectives.

In everyday conversation, people will usually not feel any big difference between the two.

Why is there no article before mi objetivo principal? Why not el mi objetivo principal or el objetivo principal?