Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien y me apoyan en mi elección de carrera.

My stepfather and my stepmother get along well and support me in my choice of career.

Breakdown of Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien y me apoyan en mi elección de carrera.

• en: in
• mi: my
• de: of
• y: and
• me: me
• llevarse bien: to get along (well)
• apoyar: to support
• la madrastra: the stepmother
• el padrastro: the stepfather
• la elección: the choice
• la carrera: the career

Questions & Answers about Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien y me apoyan en mi elección de carrera.

What does “se llevan bien” literally mean, and why can’t I just say “llevan bien”?

“Llevarse bien” is a pronominal verb that means “to get along (well)”.

• Literal idea:
  
  • llevar = to carry
  • llevarse bien (con alguien) = to get along well (with someone)
• In this sentence:
  
  • Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien ≈ My stepfather and my stepmother get along well (with each other).

You must include the pronoun “se” here, because “llevarse bien” is a fixed expression.

• Incorrect: Mi padrastro y mi madrastra llevan bien
  
  • This sounds wrong; “llevar bien” without the pronoun doesn’t mean “to get along.”
• Correct alternatives with the same idea:
  
  • Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan muy bien.
  • Ellos se llevan bien.

Why is there a “se” before “llevan”? What exactly does “se” do here?

The “se” in “se llevan bien” is a reflexive/reciprocal pronoun.

• In this sentence, it’s reciprocal:
  
  • se llevan bien = they get along well (with each other)
• The pronoun “se” shows that the action happens between them.

Compare:

• Me llevo bien con mi jefe.
  
  • I get along well with my boss.
• Nos llevamos bien.
  
  • We get along well.
• Ellos se llevan bien.
  
  • They get along well (with each other).

Without “se”, llevar means something else (to carry, to take, to wear, etc.) and doesn’t mean “to get along.”

Why is the verb plural: “se llevan” and not “se lleva”?

The subject is “Mi padrastro y mi madrastra”, which is two people, so the verb must be third person plural.

• They (my stepfather and my stepmother) get along well.
• In Spanish:
  
  • Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien. ✔
  • Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se lleva bien. ✘ (wrong agreement)

You could replace the subject with “ellos”:

• Ellos se llevan bien.

Why is it “bien” and not “bueno” after “se llevan”?

“Bien” is an adverb, and “bueno” is an adjective.

• Here you’re describing how they get along (the manner of the action), so you need an adverb:
  
  • se llevan bien = they get along well
• “Bueno” is used to describe nouns:
  
  • un padre bueno = a good father
  • una decisión buena = a good decision

So:

• Correct: Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien.
• Incorrect: Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan buenos. (ungrammatical)

What’s the difference between “padrastro/madrastra” and “padre/madre adoptivo(a)”?

• Padrastro / Madrastra
  
  • This is your stepfather / stepmother:
    
    • the man/woman who is married to one of your biological parents but is not your biological parent.
• Padre adoptivo / Madre adoptiva
  
  • This is your adoptive father/mother:
    
    • someone who legally adopted you and is your legal parent.

Culturally, “madrastra” can sometimes carry a negative stereotype (think of fairy tales: la madrastra mala), but in everyday life, people also use it neutrally. Context and tone matter.

Why is it “me apoyan” and not just “apoyan mi elección de carrera”?

“Me apoyan” means “they support me”.

The sentence emphasizes supporting you personally, not only the decision:

• me apoyan en mi elección de carrera
  
  • They support me in my choice of career.

If you drop “me”:

• apoyan mi elección de carrera
  
  • They support my career choice (more focus on the decision than on you).

Both are grammatically correct, but the original sentence sounds more personal and natural: they are behind you, specifically regarding that decision.

Why is the preposition “en” used in “me apoyan en mi elección de carrera” and not “con”?

With the verb apoyar, Spanish often uses “en” to indicate the area, aspect, or context in which someone is supported.

• apoyar a alguien en algo = to support someone in something

Examples:

• Mis amigos me apoyan en los momentos difíciles.
  
  • My friends support me in difficult times.
• Me apoyó en mi decisión.
  
  • He/she supported me in my decision.

“Con” can be possible in some contexts, but “apoyar en [algo]” is the standard pattern for “support someone in X (decision, project, choice).”
So “me apoyan en mi elección de carrera” sounds very natural.
“me apoyan con mi elección de carrera” is less typical and can sound off to some native speakers.

Could I say “Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien conmigo”? What would that mean?

Yes, but it means something different.

• Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien.
  
  • They get along well with each other.
• Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien conmigo.
  
  • They get along well with me.

So:

• Without “conmigo”: the good relationship is between them.
• With “conmigo”: the good relationship is between them and you.

If you wanted to say both ideas, you could say:

• Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien entre ellos y también se llevan bien conmigo.

Can I change the word order, like “Mi padrastro y mi madrastra me apoyan en mi elección de carrera y se llevan bien”?

Yes. Both orders are grammatically correct and natural:

• Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien y me apoyan en mi elección de carrera.
• Mi padrastro y mi madrastra me apoyan en mi elección de carrera y se llevan bien.

Spanish is fairly flexible with clause order when the meaning is clear.

The difference is only in what you emphasize first:

• The original version starts with their relationship with each other, then mentions how they treat you.
• The alternate version starts with how they support you, then adds that they get along.

What does “carrera” mean here? Is it “career” or “university major”?

In Latin American Spanish, “carrera” commonly means:

• a university degree program / field of study, and by extension
• a career.

“Elección de carrera” can be understood as:

• choosing your field of study (what you’ll study at university),
• or choosing your professional path.

The exact nuance depends on context. In many Latin American contexts, people use “carrera” very often to mean what you go to university for:

• Voy a estudiar la carrera de medicina.
  
  • I’m going to study medicine (as my degree).

Why is it “mi elección de carrera” and not “la elección de mi carrera”? Are both possible?

Both are grammatically possible, but they feel slightly different:

• mi elección de carrera
  
  • literally: my choice of career
  • very natural and direct; emphasizes your act of choosing.
• la elección de mi carrera
  
  • literally: the choice of my career
  • also correct, but sounds a bit more formal or abstract; more focus on the choice as a thing.

In everyday speech, “mi elección de carrera” is more common and sounds more personal, which fits well with “me apoyan”.

Why is there no “ellos” before “se llevan bien y me apoyan”?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, ellos) when the subject is clear from the verb form or context.

Here, the subject is explicitly named:

• Mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien y me apoyan…

Because we already know who we’re talking about, adding “ellos” is unnecessary:

• Ellos mi padrastro y mi madrastra se llevan bien… ✘ (ungrammatical)
• Ellos se llevan bien y me apoyan… ✔ but redundant, unless you really want to stress “they” as opposed to someone else.

So the natural version is the one you have: no subject pronoun needed.