Mi primo prefiere la patineta porque le gusta sentir el viento en la cara.

My cousin prefers the skateboard because he likes to feel the wind on his face.

Breakdown of Mi primo prefiere la patineta porque le gusta sentir el viento en la cara.

• mi: my
• en: on
• gustar: to like
• porque: because
• sentir: to feel
• el primo: the cousin
• preferir: to prefer
• le: to him
• la cara: the face
• el viento: the wind
• la patineta: the skateboard

Questions & Answers about Mi primo prefiere la patineta porque le gusta sentir el viento en la cara.

Why is it mi primo and not mi primo el or something like that?

In Spanish, you normally don’t put an article before a family member after a possessive. So you say:

• mi primo = my cousin
• mi hermano = my brother
• mi mamá = my mom

You don’t say mi el primo or mi la prima. The possessive (mi, tu, su, nuestro…) replaces the article.

Also, primo specifically means a male cousin. For a female cousin, you’d say mi prima.

Does primo always mean “male cousin”? What if I don’t care about gender?

Yes, individually:

• primo = male cousin
• prima = female cousin

For more than one cousin:

• mis primos can mean:
  • several male cousins, or
  • a mixed group (male + female)

If you’re talking about just female cousins, you say mis primas.

If you really want to avoid specifying gender for a single cousin, there isn’t a perfect traditional equivalent of English “cousin.” You usually just pick primo or prima based on the actual person.

Why is it prefiere and not prefiero or prefer?

Prefiere is the third person singular (he/she/it) form of the verb preferir in the present tense:

• yo prefiero – I prefer
• tú prefieres – you prefer
• él/ella/usted prefiere – he/she/you (formal) prefers

The subject is mi primo (he), so you need prefiere:

• Mi primo prefiere… = My cousin prefers…

Why is there no él? Why not Él prefiere la patineta?

Spanish usually drops subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

• Prefiere already tells you it’s he/she/you (formal).
• Mi primo prefiere… already makes it clear who.

You could say Él prefiere la patineta and it would be correct, but it sounds like you’re contrasting:

• Él prefiere la patineta, pero ella prefiere la bicicleta.
  He prefers the skateboard, but she prefers the bicycle.

Why is it la patineta? Why do we need la?

In Spanish, when you talk about things in a general way (in preferences, likes, etc.), you usually use the definite article (el, la, los, las) with countable nouns:

• Prefiero el café. = I prefer coffee.
• Me gusta la música. = I like music.
• Mi primo prefiere la patineta. = My cousin prefers the skateboard (as an activity / in general).

So la patineta here means “the skateboard” in a general sense, not one specific skateboard in front of you.

Is patineta the only way to say “skateboard”? I’ve seen monopatín too.

Both exist, but there’s a regional preference:

• In much of Latin America: la patineta is very common.
• In Spain: el monopatín is more common.

They both mean “skateboard.” The sentence is in Latin American Spanish, so la patineta fits that variety.

Why is it porque as one word? What’s the difference between porque and por qué?

They’re different words:

• porque (one word, no accent) = because

  • No salgo porque llueve. – I’m not going out because it’s raining.

• por qué (two words, with accent on qué) = why (used in questions)

  • ¿Por qué no sales? – Why aren’t you going out?

In the sentence, porque introduces the reason:

• Mi primo prefiere la patineta porque le gusta…
  My cousin prefers the skateboard because he likes…

Why is it le gusta and not lo gusta or just gusta?

With gustar, the person who likes something is an indirect object, so you use me, te, le, nos, les:

• Me gusta… = I like…
• Te gusta… = You like…
• Le gusta… = He / she / you (formal) likes…

So:

• Le gusta sentir el viento en la cara.
  = He likes to feel the wind on his face.

Lo is a direct object pronoun, used for “him/it,” not for the person who likes something. That’s why lo gusta is wrong in this structure.

You also can’t drop le; you can’t just say gusta sentir el viento. The pronoun is required to say who it is that likes it.

Why is it gusta (singular) even though “to feel the wind” seems like an action?

In Spanish, gustar agrees with the thing liked, not with the person who likes it.

Here, the “thing liked” is the action sentir el viento en la cara (to feel the wind on his face). That entire infinitive phrase counts as a single thing, so gusta is singular:

• Le gusta correr. – He likes running.
• Le gusta sentir el viento en la cara. – He likes to feel the wind on his face.

If there were multiple things:

• Le gustan las patinetas. – He likes skateboards.
  (gustan plural, because las patinetas is plural.)

Why sentir and not sentirse?

Sentir and sentirse are related but have different uses:

• sentir (non-reflexive) = to feel something (a thing, a sensation, an emotion)

  • Siento frío. – I feel cold.
  • Le gusta sentir el viento. – He likes to feel the wind.

• sentirse (reflexive) = to feel a certain way (adjectives)

  • Me siento bien. – I feel good.
  • Se siente cansado. – He feels tired.

Here, he likes feeling the wind (a thing), not “feeling himself in some emotional/physical state,” so the correct form is sentir, not sentirse.

Why can sentir come directly after gusta? Is that normal?

Yes. In Spanish, an infinitive (like sentir, comer, correr) can act like a noun, just like “to feel / feeling” in English.

After gustar, using an infinitive to talk about liking an activity is very common:

• Me gusta leer. – I like reading.
• Te gusta bailar. – You like to dance.
• Le gusta sentir el viento. – He likes to feel the wind.

So le gusta sentir… is a standard pattern: indirect object pronoun + gusta + infinitive.

Why is it el viento and not just viento?

Spanish uses the definite article el/la more often than English when speaking generally about things:

• El agua es importante. – Water is important.
• Me gusta el chocolate. – I like chocolate.
• Le gusta sentir el viento. – He likes to feel the wind.

Dropping the article (sentir viento) can sound incomplete or more poetic/literary in this kind of sentence. El viento is the normal, everyday way to say it here.

Why is it en la cara and not en su cara (“on his face”)?

With body parts, Spanish usually uses a definite article (el, la, los, las) instead of a possessive (mi, su…), when it’s clear whose body part you’re talking about:

• Me lavo las manos. – I wash my hands.
• Le duele la cabeza. – His / her head hurts.
• Le gusta sentir el viento en la cara. – He likes to feel the wind on his face.

You don’t need su here because le already shows whose face it is (his). En su cara is possible, but it often sounds more contrastive or emphasizes whose face, sometimes even with a hint of “right in his face” context-dependently.

Is cara always feminine? Why la cara?

Yes, cara (face) is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article la:

• la cara redonda – the round face
• lavar la cara – to wash (one’s) face

There isn’t a special reason here beyond memorizing the noun’s gender: cara is feminine, so you say la cara.

Can I change the word order? For example, Mi primo, porque le gusta sentir el viento en la cara, prefiere la patineta?

Yes, Spanish word order is fairly flexible. Some acceptable alternatives:

• Mi primo prefiere la patineta porque le gusta sentir el viento en la cara.
• Porque le gusta sentir el viento en la cara, mi primo prefiere la patineta.
• Mi primo, porque le gusta sentir el viento en la cara, prefiere la patineta.

They all mean the same thing. The original order is the most neutral and natural; the others add a bit of emphasis or a more “explaining” tone.