Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Así, la familia va empezando el día unida, aunque todos tengamos un poco de sueño. - That way, the family is starting the day together, even though we are all a bit sleepy.

Así is an adverb that in this context means “in this way” or “like this”, and often translates to “so” or “thus” at the start of a sentence.

Así, la familia… ≈ “This way, the family…” / “So, the family…”

The comma after Así separates this introductory element from the main clause, just like in English when we write:

“Thus, the family starts the day united…”
“So, the family begins the day together…”

Without the comma it would be harder to see that Así is modifying the whole idea that follows, not just one single word.

Why is it va empezando and not just empieza?

Va empezando is a combination of ir (to go) + gerund (empezando) and it adds nuance:

la familia empieza el día = “the family starts the day” (simple statement)
la familia va empezando el día = roughly “the family is (gradually) starting the day”

In Spanish, ir + gerund can suggest:

A gradual process: happening bit by bit.
- Voy entendiendo. = “I’m gradually understanding.”
A sense of progress over time.

So va empezando can hint that the family is in the process of starting their day (maybe with rituals like breakfast, talking, etc.), not just the single moment when the day “starts.”

What is the difference between va empezando, empieza, and está empezando?

All three refer to starting, but they feel slightly different:

empieza el día
- Simple present: “starts the day”
- Neutral, habitual, or general statement.
está empezando el día
- Present progressive: “is starting the day (right now)”
- Focus on an action in progress at this moment, like English “is starting.”
va empezando el día
- ir + gerundio: “is gradually starting the day,” or “goes about starting the day.”
- Suggests a process that is unfolding or the idea that this is how they tend to start their day.

In many contexts, empieza would be perfectly correct; the writer just chose va empezando for a slightly more descriptive / process-oriented feel.

Why is it unida and not unidos?

The adjective unida agrees with la familia, which is:

grammatically singular
grammatically feminine (because familia is a feminine noun)

So:

la familia unida = “the united family”
- la → feminine, singular
- familia → feminine noun
- unida → feminine, singular adjective to match familia

If you said unidos, that would grammatically match a plural noun like miembros:

Los miembros de la familia empiezan el día unidos.
“The family members start the day united.”

In everyday speech you might sometimes hear a mismatch (like people saying la familia están unidos), but the standard, correct agreement here is la familia está unida / va empezando el día unida.

What does aunque mean here, and why does it use the subjunctive (tengamos)?

Aunque means “although / even though / even if.”
In Spanish, aunque can be followed by either the indicative or the subjunctive, and the choice changes the nuance:

Aunque todos tenemos un poco de sueño…
- Indicative: the speaker states the fact as certain and known.
- ≈ “Although we all have a bit of sleepiness (and this is a clear fact)…”
Aunque todos tengamos un poco de sueño…
- Subjunctive: more like “even if we (may) all be a bit sleepy” or “even though we’re all (admittedly) a bit sleepy, but I’m not focusing on that as a hard fact.”
- Commonly used for a concessive idea: this doesn’t stop the main action.

In this sentence, aunque todos tengamos un poco de sueño softens the statement and frames it as a concession:
“Even though we (might) all be a little sleepy, the family still starts the day united.”

How is tengamos formed, and what tense/mood is it?

Tengamos is:

first person plural (we)
present subjunctive
of the verb tener (“to have”).

Present subjunctive of tener:

yo: tenga
tú: tengas
él/ella/usted: tenga
nosotros/nosotras: tengamos
vosotros/vosotras: tengáis
ellos/ellas/ustedes: tengan

It’s used here because aunque introduces a concessive clause (see previous answer), so the subjunctive is the natural choice: aunque todos tengamos un poco de sueño.

Why is it todos tengamos and not todos tenemos?

Grammatically, both exist:

todos tenemos → indicative
todos tengamos → subjunctive

The person/number is the same (1st person plural); the only difference is mood:

todos tenemos: plain fact, no nuance.
todos tengamos: subjunctive, used here because of aunque, to express a concession (“even though / even if”).

So the choice is not about agreement with todos, but about:

indicative vs. subjunctive, driven by what the speaker wants to emphasize with aunque.

Todos here means “all of us” (all the members of the family). It’s a pronoun reinforcing the idea that everyone is affected, but the underlying subject is still “we”, so you get tengamos (not, for example, tengan).

What does un poco de sueño literally mean, and why is de used?

Literally, un poco de sueño is:

un poco = “a little / a bit”
de = “of”
sueño = “sleepiness / sleep”

So literally: “a little of sleepiness” → naturally in English: “a bit sleepy”.

In Spanish, when un poco modifies a noun, you almost always add de:

un poco de agua = a little (bit of) water
un poco de tiempo = a bit of time
un poco de paciencia = a bit of patience
un poco de sueño = a bit of sleepiness

Without de (un poco sueño) it sounds incorrect or incomplete.

Why is it sueño (singular) and not sueños?

Sueño has two main meanings:

sleepiness / drowsiness (an uncountable state)
- Tengo sueño. = “I’m sleepy.”
- un poco de sueño = “a bit of sleepiness / I’m a bit sleepy.”
dream (when plural: sueños = “dreams”)
- Tengo muchos sueños. = “I have many dreams.”

In the sentence, sueño clearly refers to sleepiness, not literal dreams, so it stays singular and uncountable, like “sleepiness” in English.

Why is it el día and not su día (“their day”)?

In Spanish, when talking about routine daily actions, it’s very common to use el día (the day) without a possessive:

Empiezo el día con café.
= “I start the day with coffee.” (implicitly my day)
La familia empieza el día unida.
= “The family starts the day united.” (implicitly their day)

Adding su is possible (empieza su día), but it’s less usual in this kind of general / habitual statement and can sound slightly heavier or more pointed, as if you are contrasting their day with someone else’s.

So el día here is simply the idiomatic choice for “start the day.”

Could the word order be la familia va empezando unida el día instead of va empezando el día unida?

You could say la familia va empezando unida el día, and it would be understandable, but:

la familia va empezando el día unida
feels more natural, because:
- el día sticks closer to empezando (the verb it belongs to),
- unida comes at the end as a resulting or descriptive detail.

In Spanish, word order is somewhat flexible, but the original order:

la familia va empezando el día unida

is the most standard and fluid for this sentence.

Are there other natural ways in Latin American Spanish to express this same idea?

Yes. Here are a few very natural alternatives with slightly different nuances, all common in Latin America:

Así, la familia empieza el día unida, aunque todos tengamos un poco de sueño.
- Uses empieza instead of va empezando; simpler, more neutral.
Así, la familia comienza el día unida, aunque todos tengamos un poco de sueño.
- comienza is a synonym of empieza.
Así, la familia empieza el día unida, aunque todos estamos un poco soñolientos.
- Uses estamos
  - adjective soñolientos (“sleepy”).
Así, la familia empieza el día unida, aunque todos estamos un poco cansados.
- Replaces sleepy with tired (cansados).

All of these would sound natural in Latin American Spanish; the original just chooses va empezando and tengamos to add a bit of nuance and style.