Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mi padrastro es amable y siempre busca una razón para hacernos reír. - My stepfather is kind and always looks for a reason to make us laugh.

So mi padrastro = my stepfather.
The possessive mi doesn’t change for gender, so it’s mi padrastro and mi madrastra for “my stepmother.”

Why is it es amable and not está amable?

Spanish uses ser and estar differently:

ser
- adjective → a more permanent or typical characteristic
- Mi padrastro es amable. = My stepfather is (a) kind person (in general).
estar
- adjective → a temporary state or mood
- Mi padrastro está amable hoy. = My stepfather is being nice today. (unusual/marked, sounds like “for once, he’s actually being nice”)

In your sentence, the idea is that kindness is part of his character, so es amable is the natural choice.

What nuance does amable have? Is it “kind,” “nice,” “friendly,” or “polite”?

Amable usually combines the ideas of kind, nice, and polite:

It describes someone who treats others well, with consideration and good manners.
Depending on context, it can feel like:
- kind / kind‑hearted: “He’s really good to others.”
- nice: “He’s a nice guy.”
- polite: “He’s courteous.”

It’s not exactly the same as:

simpático = pleasant, likeable, fun to be with
bueno = good (very broad)
agradable = pleasant, agreeable

In your sentence, amable is close to “kind” or “very nice to others.”

Why is it busca una razón and not busca por una razón or busca para una razón?

In Spanish, buscar already includes the idea of “for,” so it’s:

buscar algo = to look for / search for something

You do not normally add a preposition after buscar:

✅ busca una razón = he looks for a reason
❌ busca por una razón (wrong in standard Spanish in this sense)
❌ busca para una razón (incorrect)

That’s why the correct form here is just busca una razón.
The para comes later to express purpose: una razón para hacernos reír (“a reason in order to make us laugh”).

What tense is busca, and what does it express here?

Busca is present indicative, 3rd person singular of buscar.

In English you might translate it as:

“he looks for” (simple present)
“he is looking for” (present continuous), depending on context.

With siempre, it expresses a habitual action:

siempre busca una razón… = he always looks for / is always looking for a reason…

Spanish often uses the simple present where English prefers “is always doing…”.

How does una razón para hacernos reír work grammatically? Why use para?

The structure is:

una razón = a reason
para + infinitive = to / in order to + verb
hacernos reír = make us laugh

So una razón para hacernos reír literally means “a reason in order to make us laugh”.

Para is used to express purpose or goal:

para comer = to eat / in order to eat
para estudiar = to study / in order to study
para hacernos reír = to make us laugh / in order to make us laugh

Using por here (una razón por hacernos reír) would be incorrect; por is not used to introduce purpose in this way.

What does hacernos mean here, and why is it attached to hacer?

Hacernos is hacer (to make) + nos (us).

Literally: hacernos = “to make us”

In Spanish, object pronouns like me, te, nos, lo, la, los, las can be attached to an infinitive:

hacer → hacernos (make us)
ayudar → ayudarnos (help us)
ver → vernos (see us)

Because hacer is in the infinitive after para, the pronoun nos attaches to it:

para hacernos reír = in order to make us laugh

You could also place the pronoun before a conjugated verb, but here the verb is an infinitive after a preposition, so the natural placement is attached: hacernos.

Could I also say nos hace reír? Is there a difference from hacernos reír?

Yes, both are correct, but they fit in different structures:

Nos hace reír. = He makes us laugh.
- Here hace is the main, conjugated verb.
...para hacernos reír. = ...in order to make us laugh.
- Here hacer is in the infinitive after para, part of a purpose phrase.

You cannot say:

❌ una razón para nos hace reír

Because after a preposition (para) Spanish needs an infinitive, not a conjugated verb. So you must use hacer (infinitive) → hacernos.

Why is it hacernos reír and not hacer reírnos?

Two points here:

Which verb does “nos” belong to?
The idea is “to make us laugh,” where us is the object of hacer (make), not a reflexive part of reír:
- hacer reír a alguien = to make someone laugh
- So the pronoun attaches to hacer: hacernos reír.
Pronoun position with multiple infinitives
In the common pattern hacer reír (a alguien), when you add a pronoun for “a alguien,” it attaches to hacer:
- hacer reírme / hacer reírlos are not the usual pattern.
- Standard and natural: hacerme reír, hacerte reír, hacernos reír, etc.

So hacernos reír is the normal, idiomatic construction; hacer reírnos sounds wrong or at least very non‑standard.

What is the difference between reír and reírse?

Both relate to “laugh,” but they’re used a bit differently:

reír = to laugh
reírse = to laugh (reflexive form; very commonly used in everyday speech)

Typical uses:

Me río mucho. = I laugh a lot.
Nos reímos de sus chistes. = We laugh at his jokes.
reírse de alguien = to laugh at someone.

After hacer, Spanish normally uses reír (without se):

hacer reír a alguien = to make someone laugh
hacernos reír = to make us laugh

So in your sentence, reír (non‑reflexive) is the correct and usual form.

Can I change the word order, like siempre busca vs busca siempre?

Yes, both are grammatically correct:

siempre busca una razón…
- Most neutral, very common word order.
busca siempre una razón…
- Also correct; can sound a bit more emphatic or stylistic in some contexts.

In everyday speech, siempre busca is the most typical and natural order here.

Is there any difference between Latin American and Spain Spanish in this sentence?

Grammatically and lexically, this sentence works the same in Latin America and Spain:

Mi padrastro es amable y siempre busca una razón para hacernos reír.

Main differences would only be:

Pronunciation (e.g., seseo in Latin America vs. ceceo/seseo in Spain).
Very slight stylistic preferences; for example, in some places people might sometimes say “siempre está buscando” instead of “siempre busca”, but your version is fully natural everywhere.

The sentence is standard and widely understood throughout the Spanish-speaking world.