La comida tradicional de mi país es muy sabrosa.

Breakdown of La comida tradicional de mi país es muy sabrosa.

ser
to be
mi
my
muy
very
la comida
the food
de
of
el país
the country
sabroso
tasty
tradicional
traditional
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Spanish grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Spanish now

Questions & Answers about La comida tradicional de mi país es muy sabrosa.

Why does the sentence use la comida instead of just comida without the article?

In Spanish, when you talk about something in a general way (like “food” as a category), you usually use the definite article: la comida.

  • La comida tradicional de mi país = traditional food of my country (as a general concept).
  • Just comida tradicional de mi país would sound more like an incomplete phrase, as if it were part of a longer sentence.

Using the article makes it sound natural and complete, similar to saying “the traditional food of my country” in English.

Why is tradicional placed after comida and not before, like la tradicional comida?

The normal, neutral position for most adjectives in Spanish is after the noun:

  • la comida tradicional (the traditional food)

Putting tradicional before the noun (la tradicional comida) is possible, but it sounds more literary or emphatic, and it can slightly change the feel, as if you are emotionally highlighting it.

For everyday speech, especially in Latin America, la comida tradicional is the standard word order.

Why is it de mi país and not en mi país?
  • de mi país literally means “of my country” and shows possession/origin: the traditional food that belongs to / comes from my country.
  • en mi país means “in my country”, which focuses on the location: the traditional food that is in my country.

To say “my country’s traditional food,” Spanish naturally uses de mi país, not en mi país.
You could say la comida que se come en mi país (the food that is eaten in my country), but that changes the structure.

Could I say la comida típica de mi país instead of la comida tradicional de mi país? What’s the difference?

Yes, la comida típica de mi país is very common and completely correct.

Nuance:

  • tradicional emphasizes tradition, history, customs passed down over time.
  • típica emphasizes that it is characteristic or typical of a place (what you expect from that country).

In practice, they often overlap. In Latin America, comida típica is extremely common on menus and tourist contexts.

Why is it sabrosa and not sabroso?

Adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

  • comida is feminine singular → la comida.
  • So the adjective must also be feminine singular → sabrosa.

If the noun were masculine, e.g. el plato tradicional, you’d say es muy sabroso.

What is the difference between sabrosa, rica, deliciosa, and buena?

All can describe good-tasting food, but there are nuances:

  • sabrosa: tasty, flavorful; suggests rich flavor.
  • rica (in Latin America, for food): delicious, really good; very common and informal.
    • La comida de mi país es muy rica.
  • deliciosa: delicious; a bit stronger, sometimes slightly more formal or expressive.
  • buena: good; more general, can refer to taste, quality, or even healthiness, depending on context.

In your sentence, you could also say es muy rica or es muy deliciosa and sound natural.

Why does the sentence use es and not está?

Ser (es) is used for more permanent or essential characteristics; estar is used for temporary states or conditions.

  • La comida tradicional de mi país es muy sabrosa.
    → This describes a general, permanent quality of that food.

If you said está muy sabrosa, it would usually refer to a specific dish or meal at that moment:

  • Esta sopa está muy sabrosa. (This soup tastes really good right now.)
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like ella in the sentence?

Spanish normally omits subject pronouns when the subject is clear from context or from the verb form.

Here, the subject is explicitly written: la comida tradicional de mi país.
Because the noun phrase is present, you don’t add ella.

Saying Ella, la comida tradicional de mi país, es muy sabrosa would be strange and incorrect in normal usage.

Can I make this sentence plural, like Las comidas tradicionales de mi país son muy sabrosas? Is that different?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct, but the meaning shifts slightly:

  • La comida tradicional de mi país es muy sabrosa.
    → Refers to traditional food in general, as a category.
  • Las comidas tradicionales de mi país son muy sabrosas.
    → Emphasizes different specific traditional dishes or types of food.

In everyday speech, the singular generic version (la comida tradicional…) is more common to talk about cuisine in general.

Why is it muy sabrosa and not sabrosa muy?

In Spanish, adverbs like muy almost always go before the adjective they modify:

  • muy sabrosa (very tasty)
  • muy grande, muy interesante

sabrosa muy is incorrect word order.
You could change the structure to add emphasis in other ways, but the normal order is muy + adjective.

What exactly does muy add here? Could I say just es sabrosa?

Yes, es sabrosa is correct and means “is tasty.”

Adding muy intensifies the adjective:

  • es sabrosa = it’s tasty.
  • es muy sabrosa = it’s very tasty / really flavorful.

So muy works like English “very” to make the opinion stronger.

Why is it mi país and not el país or de el país?
  • mi país = my country (possessive adjective)
  • el país = the country (with the definite article)

In de mi país, mi is already there, so you cannot use el:

  • de mi país
  • de el mi país

Also, you wouldn’t say de el país here because you specifically want my country, not the country in general.
Note: de el normally contracts to del (e.g. del país), but that only happens with el, not with mi.

How is país pronounced, and what is the purpose of the accent mark?

País is pronounced roughly pa-EES, with two syllables: pa-ís, and the stress on the second syllable.

The accent mark (í) indicates:

  • Where the stress goes (on -ís, not on pa-)
  • That it’s pronounced as two syllables (pa-ís), not as one (pais).

Without the accent, the pronunciation rules would change and could cause confusion.

In Latin America, does comida mean “food” in general, or can it also mean a specific meal like “lunch”?

In Latin America, comida can mean both:

  1. Food in general:
    • La comida tradicional de mi país = traditional food of my country.
  2. In some regions, especially in Mexico and parts of Central America, la comida can also specifically mean the main meal of the day (often around midday), similar to “lunch” or even “main meal.”

In your sentence, the context makes it clearly food in general, not a specific mealtime.