Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Deberíamos recordar que cada pequeño paso en español también es un gran progreso. - We should remember that each small step in Spanish is also great progress.

Deberíamos recordar… → We should remember… (a suggestion, recommendation, something advisable)
Debemos recordar… → We must / we have to remember… (stronger, more like an obligation or rule)

So deberíamos sounds softer and more polite than debemos.

Why is it deberíamos and not tenemos que?

Both work, but they have different nuances:

Deberíamos recordar… = We should remember…
- Suggestion, recommendation, something that’s a good idea.
Tenemos que recordar… = We have to remember…
- Obligation, necessity, something more like a requirement.

In motivational or encouraging sentences about learning, deberíamos sounds more supportive and less like a strict rule.

Why is it recordar and not acordarnos?

Both verbs are related but used a bit differently:

Recordar algo = to remember something
- Direct object: recordar que cada pequeño paso…
Acordarse de algo = to remember something
- Reflexive + de: acordarnos de que cada pequeño paso…

You could say:

Deberíamos acordarnos de que cada pequeño paso en español también es un gran progreso.

That’s grammatically correct and natural. The sentence just chooses recordar because it’s a bit simpler: no reflexive pronoun, no de before que.

Why is it que cada pequeño paso… and not de que cada pequeño paso…?

After recordar, you do not use de before que:

✅ recordar que…
❌ recordar de que…

But with acordarse, you do need de:

✅ acordarse de que…
- Deberíamos acordarnos de que…

So the connector depends on the verb:

recordar que
acordarse de que

Why is the adjective pequeño placed before paso (cada pequeño paso) and not after it (cada paso pequeño)?

Spanish adjectives can go before or after the noun, but the position often changes the nuance.

cada pequeño paso
- More emotional / subjective: each little step (with a focus on “little but meaningful”)
cada paso pequeño
- Grammatically fine, but sounds more neutral or descriptive, less idiomatic in this kind of motivational sentence.

In encouraging or poetic phrases, it’s very common to put adjectives like pequeño, gran, buen, nuevo before the noun. So cada pequeño paso is the most natural choice here.

Why is it en español and not de español?

Here we’re talking about steps within the activity of Spanish, like progress made in the language.

en español = in Spanish (in the context of the language, in the realm of Spanish)
- cada pequeño paso en español → every little step in Spanish (in your learning of Spanish)

De español would sound more like “of Spanish” and doesn’t fit well here. If you wanted to say steps of Spanish, it would be unusual and unclear.

So for progress in a language, en [language] is standard:

progresar en español
mejorar en inglés
cada pequeño paso en francés

Why is también placed before es and not at the end of the sentence?

También usually goes before the verb it modifies:

…también es un gran progreso.

You can move también around a bit, but not every position sounds natural. These are typical:

…también es un gran progreso. (most natural)
…es también un gran progreso. (also possible, a bit different emphasis)

Putting it at the end:

❌ …es un gran progreso también.

is understandable but sounds less natural in this kind of sentence. Native speakers usually keep también close to the verb.

What’s the difference between gran progreso and gran progreso vs. grande progreso or mucho progreso?

Key points:

Gran is a shortened form of grande used before a singular noun:
- un gran progreso ✅
- un progreso grande ✅ (but different nuance)
- un grande progreso ❌ (incorrect)
Gran often has a more abstract / qualitative meaning: “great, important, significant.”
- un gran progreso = a big / great / major step forward (qualitatively)
Mucho progreso talks about quantity:
- mucho progreso = a lot of progress

So:

un gran progreso = one important, significant progress/milestone
mucho progreso = a large amount of progress (many improvements)

Could this sentence use a subjunctive, like sea un gran progreso instead of es un gran progreso?

In this sentence, indicative is correct:

…cada pequeño paso en español también es un gran progreso.

We are stating a fact or general truth: every little step is (in reality) big progress.

The subjunctive (sea) would be used if the structure required it, for example:

Aunque cada pequeño paso en español sea pequeño, también es un gran progreso.
- Here sea appears because it follows aunque in a certain type of clause, but notice we still end with es un gran progreso to assert the idea as true.

In the original structure recordar que…, the natural choice is the indicative es, because we’re not expressing doubt, wish, or hypothesis, but an assertion we want to remember.

Why is it progreso and not progresión or avance?

All are real Spanish words, but they’re used differently:

progreso
- Very common, general word for progress/improvement.
- Works perfectly in motivational / learning contexts.
- un gran progreso is a very natural collocation.
progresión
- More technical or formal (math, medicine, music, etc.).
- Less used in everyday speech about language learning.
avance
- Means an advance, a step forward.
- You could say un gran avance and it would sound fine:
  - …también es un gran avance. ✅ (completely natural alternative)

So progreso is chosen because it’s the most common and intuitive word for “progress” in this type of encouraging sentence.

Is there anything specifically “Latin American” about this sentence?

The sentence is fully natural in Latin American Spanish, and also natural in Spain. There’s no regional vocabulary that marks it clearly as one or the other.

If anything, one small regional difference around this structure is not visible here:

In Spain, people might also say:
- Debemos recordar que… or No debemos olvidar que…
In Latin America, those forms are also used. Deberíamos recordar is equally common across the Spanish-speaking world.

So this sentence works well in any Spanish‑speaking country.

Could I change the word order and say Cada pequeño paso en español deberíamos recordar que también es un gran progreso?

That word order sounds unnatural and confusing in Spanish. Spanish allows some flexibility, but not all English-like reorderings work.

The natural structures are:

Deberíamos recordar que cada pequeño paso en español también es un gran progreso. ✅
Cada pequeño paso en español también es un gran progreso; deberíamos recordarlo. ✅

In the second version, notice how recordar now takes lo (recordarlo) instead of a que‑clause, to keep the sentence clear and fluid.

Your suggested order mixes the que‑clause in a way that’s hard to process for a native speaker, so it’s better to avoid it.

Why does deberíamos have an accent mark on the í?

The accent mark shows where the stress (spoken emphasis) falls:

de-be-RÍ-a-mos

Without the accent, according to normal stress rules, it would be:

DE-be-ria-mos (stress on the first syllable), which is wrong.

Because deberíamos is a longer word ending in -s, the stress would naturally fall on the second-to-last syllable (-rí- is not the second to last), so Spanish uses a written accent (í) to mark the correct stress: deberÍamos.