Breakdown of En conclusión, estudiar todos los días funciona mejor que estudiar solo antes del examen, aunque tu método no sea perfecto ni esté libre de respuestas equivocadas.
Questions & Answers about En conclusión, estudiar todos los días funciona mejor que estudiar solo antes del examen, aunque tu método no sea perfecto ni esté libre de respuestas equivocadas.
The subject of funciona is the whole infinitive phrase estudiar todos los días.
In Spanish, an infinitive can act like a noun and be the subject of a verb. So you can think of it as:
- Estudiar todos los días (subject) funciona mejor (verb + complement)
= Studying every day works better…
Even though it’s a whole phrase, it counts as singular, so the verb is funciona, not funcionan.
Spanish often uses the infinitive to talk about activities in a general way, where English would use a -ing form:
- Estudiar = studying
- Comer sano = eating healthy
So estudiar todos los días literally means to study every day, but in context it matches English studying every day.
Using el estudio here would sound more like the act of study / the study, and it’s not as natural in this comparison structure.
In Spanish, de + el contracts to del:
- de el examen → del examen
- de el libro → del libro
So antes del examen literally comes from antes de el examen, but the contraction del is mandatory in standard Spanish.
You do not contract de + la:
- antes de la prueba (correct)
- antes dela prueba (incorrect)
Aunque can take either the indicative or the subjunctive, and the choice changes the nuance:
Aunque + indicative (es, está):
The speaker treats the fact as real / accepted.- Aunque tu método no es perfecto… = Even though your method is not perfect… (we’re stating it as a fact).
Aunque + subjunctive (sea, esté):
The fact is seen as hypothetical, uncertain, or not so important; it can also sound more concessive, like even if.- Aunque tu método no sea perfecto… = Even if your method isn’t perfect… / Even though it may not be perfect…
In this sentence, no sea and esté (subjunctive) highlight the idea: even if your method is not perfect or completely free of wrong answers, the general conclusion still holds.
Ni is used to link two negative ideas and is often more natural than y no in this kind of structure. The pattern is:
- no A ni B = neither A nor B / not A or B (either)
Here:
- no sea perfecto ni esté libre de respuestas equivocadas
≈ is not perfect nor free of wrong answers
You could say no sea perfecto y no esté libre…, but ni is more concise and is the normal choice when joining two negatives.
Historically, sólo (with an accent) was used when it meant only, and solo (without an accent) meant alone.
Current RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) recommendation:
- Use solo in both cases, without an accent, unless there is real ambiguity (which is rare).
In this sentence:
- estudiar solo antes del examen clearly means only before the exam, not alone before the exam, because antes del examen explains the limitation in time.
So solo (no accent) is the modern, standard spelling here. Sólo is still understood and used by some speakers, but it’s no longer recommended as the default.
Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:
funciona mejor que…
Focuses on effectiveness / how well it works in practice.- Studying every day works better than…
es mejor que…
More general value judgment: it is better than… (could be moral, practical, etc.).
In this context, we’re talking about what works better as a strategy for learning, so funciona mejor is very natural and precise.
Tu and su mark different levels of formality:
- tu método = your method (informal tú)
- su método = your method (formal usted), or his/her/their method depending on context
This sentence is clearly addressing someone informally, like a student, so tu método matches tú.
In most of Latin America, tú/tu is the standard informal form (though some regions prefer vos), and usted/su is reserved for more formal or respectful situations.
estar libre de respuestas equivocadas literally = to be free of wrong answers
It suggests having none of them at all; it’s a bit more formal/academic in tone.no tener errores or no tener respuestas incorrectas = not to have mistakes / wrong answers
More direct and informal.
Both are possible, but estar libre de… is a set phrase often used to mean completely without something negative:
- estar libre de errores = to be error-free
- estar libre de riesgos = to be risk-free
So ni esté libre de respuestas equivocadas ≈ nor be completely free of wrong answers.
The comma marks aunque tu método no sea perfecto ni esté libre de respuestas equivocadas as a subordinate clause that adds extra, contrasting information to the main statement.
Main idea:
- En conclusión, estudiar todos los días funciona mejor que estudiar solo antes del examen
Extra concession:
- aunque tu método no sea perfecto ni esté libre de respuestas equivocadas
The comma helps separate the main conclusion from this concessive clause, improving clarity and rhythm.