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Mi abuela canta en la misa del domingo y eso la hace muy feliz.

Mi abuela canta en la misa del domingo y eso la hace muy feliz.
My grandmother sings at Sunday mass and that makes her very happy.
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Questions & Answers about Mi abuela canta en la misa del domingo y eso la hace muy feliz.

Why is it Mi abuela and not La mi abuela or something with an article?

In Spanish, you normally don’t use a definite article with a possessive adjective like mi, tu, su, nuestro, etc.

  • ✅ Mi abuela = my grandmother
  • ❌ La mi abuela (incorrect in modern standard Spanish)

So you either say:

  • Mi abuela = my grandmother
  • La abuela = the grandmother (no “my”)

You can also say la abuela de mi mamá (my mom’s grandmother), but that’s a different structure (using de, not mi).

Why is there no ella in Mi abuela canta…? Shouldn’t it be Ella canta?

In Spanish, the subject pronoun (yo, tú, él, ella, etc.) is often omitted because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

  • canta = he/she sings
  • Mi abuela canta = My grandmother sings → “mi abuela” is the subject, so ella is not needed.

You could say:

  • Ella canta en la misa del domingo.

But here it’s more natural to just say Mi abuela canta…; adding ella would sound redundant unless you need special emphasis or contrast (e.g., Mi abuelo no canta, pero ella sí canta.).

Why is it canta and not está cantando if in English we might say “My grandma is singing at Sunday mass”?

Spanish uses the simple present (canta) more broadly than English:

  • Mi abuela canta en la misa del domingo.
    = She sings / is a person who sings there (a habitual or regular action).

If you say:

  • Mi abuela está cantando en la misa.
    That focuses on right now, at this very moment.

The original sentence sounds like a habit or regular activity (she sings there every Sunday, or usually), so canta is the most natural choice.

Why is it en la misa and not a la misa or just misa?

Preposition choice changes the meaning:

  • ir a la misa = to go to mass
  • cantar en la misa = to sing at/in mass

So with the verb cantar, Spanish uses en to mean at a ceremony/event:

  • canta en la misa = she sings at mass
  • canta en el coro = she sings in the choir

You can sometimes drop the article and say en misa (especially in some varieties of Spanish), but en la misa is very clear and standard: at the mass.

What does del in la misa del domingo mean? Why not de el domingo?

del is simply the contraction of de + el:

  • de + el = del

So:

  • la misa del domingo = the mass of the Sunday → Sunday mass

You cannot write de el domingo; in standard Spanish it must contract:

  • ✅ del domingo
  • ❌ de el domingo
Why is domingo not capitalized like Sunday in English?

In Spanish, days of the week and months are written with a lowercase letter:

  • lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo

So:

  • English: Sunday mass
  • Spanish: la misa del domingo

Capital letters are used for things like proper names, countries, etc., but not for days of the week or months.

Why is it eso in y eso la hace muy feliz? What does eso refer to, and why not esto?

Eso is a neutral demonstrative pronoun that means that (referring to a situation or idea):

In this sentence, eso refers to the previous whole idea:

  • Mi abuela canta en la misa del domingo
    → That activity / That fact
    → eso la hace muy feliz (that makes her very happy).

Esto generally refers to something closer to the speaker or something just mentioned or about to be mentioned. Here, it’s more natural to use eso for “that (thing just mentioned).”

So:

  • Mi abuela canta en la misa del domingo, y eso la hace muy feliz.
    = My grandmother sings at Sunday mass, and that makes her very happy.
In eso la hace muy feliz, what does la mean, and why does it go before hace?

La is a direct object pronoun meaning her (referring to mi abuela).

Spanish puts object pronouns before a conjugated verb:

  • eso la hace muy feliz
    literally: that her makes very happy → that makes her very happy

Structure:

  • eso = that (subject)
  • la = her (direct object)
  • hace = makes
  • muy feliz = very happy

So the word order in Spanish is:

Eso la hace muy feliz.
(That her makes very happy.)

But in English we must say:
> That makes her very happy.

Why is it la hace feliz (with feliz) and not something like la hace felicidad?

In Spanish, after hacer in the sense of make someone + adjective, you use an adjective, not a noun:

  • hacer a alguien feliz = to make someone happy (adjective)
  • ❌ hacer a alguien felicidad (to make someone happiness) → incorrect

Feliz is an adjective meaning happy.
Felicidad is a noun meaning happiness.

So:

  • ✅ Eso la hace feliz. = That makes her happy.
  • ❌ Eso la hace felicidad. (wrong)
Why is it muy feliz and not mucho feliz? Aren’t both “very/a lot”?

Muy and mucho are used differently:

  • muy goes with adjectives and adverbs:

    • muy feliz = very happy
    • muy cansado = very tired
    • muy rápido = very fast

  • mucho/mucha/muchos/muchas go with nouns (and also with verbs, but that’s another use):

    • mucha felicidad = a lot of happiness
    • mucho dinero = a lot of money

So:

  • ✅ muy feliz (very happy — adjective)
  • ✅ mucha felicidad (a lot of happiness — noun)
  • ❌ mucho feliz (incorrect grammar)
Does feliz change for gender or number? Why isn’t it feliza for a woman?

Feliz is one of those adjectives that does not change for gender:

  • él está feliz = he is happy
  • ella está feliz = she is happy

For plural, it adds -es:

  • son felices = they are happy

So for mi abuela (feminine, singular):

  • ✅ Mi abuela está feliz.
  • ✅ Eso la hace muy feliz.
  • ❌ Eso la hace muy feliza. (incorrect)