Nuestro grupo está muy unido.

Breakdown of Nuestro grupo está muy unido.

muy
very
estar
to be
nuestro
our
el grupo
the group
unido
together
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Questions & Answers about Nuestro grupo está muy unido.

Why is it nuestro and not nosotros?

Nosotros means we (a subject pronoun: we are, we go, we speak).

Nuestro means our (a possessive adjective: our group, our house).

In Nuestro grupo está muy unido, you need a word that shows possession of grupo (whose group?), so you use nuestro = our.
If you used nosotros, the sentence would be ungrammatical because you’d be putting a subject pronoun in front of a noun.


Why is there no article (el, la) before nuestro grupo?

In Spanish, when you use a possessive adjective like mi, tu, su, nuestro, you normally do not add a definite article:

  • Mi casa (not la mi casa) – my house
  • Nuestro grupo (not el nuestro grupo) – our group

The possessive already gives the specificity that the article would give, so you don’t say el nuestro grupo in standard Spanish.


Why is unido masculine and singular? The group has men and women.

Adjectives in Spanish agree with the grammatical gender and number of the noun, not with the real-world gender of the people.

  • Grupo is a masculine singular noun.
  • Therefore, the adjective must also be masculine singular: unido.

Even if the group is all women, you still say:

  • Nuestro grupo está muy unido.

Because what the adjective modifies is grupo, not the individual members.


Why is it está and not es?

Both ser and estar translate as to be, but they’re used differently.

With unido referring to a group that is close-knit, Spanish uses estar:

  • Nuestro grupo está muy unido.
    Our group is (right now / as a state) very united / close-knit.

Using ser here (Nuestro grupo es muy unido) is not idiomatic in most contexts. In many varieties it would sound odd or might even suggest a different meaning (in some regions ser unido can mean “to be tight with money / stingy”).

So, for emotional unity or cohesion of a group, the natural choice is estar unido.


What does unido actually mean here?

Literally, unido = united, joined.

In this sentence, it has the idiomatic meaning:

  • emotionally close
  • having strong bonds
  • very cohesive / close-knit

So Nuestro grupo está muy unido is like saying:

  • “Our group is very close-knit.”
  • “Our group is very tight / close.”

Why is it muy unido and not mucho unido?

In Spanish:

  • muy is used before adjectives and adverbs:
    • muy unido, muy alto, muy rápido
  • mucho / mucha / muchos / muchas is used with nouns or as an adverb with verbs:
    • mucho trabajo – a lot of work
    • trabaja mucho – he/she works a lot

Since unido is an adjective, you must use muy:

  • muy unido
  • mucho unido

Why don’t we say Nuestro grupo está muy juntos?

Two issues:

  1. Agreement

    • Grupo is singular, so the adjective must be singular: unido, not unidos or juntos.
  2. Meaning

    • Unido = united, close-knit (emotional / relational sense).
    • Junto / juntos = together (usually physical proximity: in the same place, side by side).

So:

  • Nuestro grupo está muy unido. – Our group is very close-knit.
  • Estamos muy juntos. – We are very close together (e.g., sitting close, crowded).

To describe emotional unity of a group, unido is the natural choice.


Could I say Estamos muy unidos instead of Nuestro grupo está muy unido?

Yes, that’s very natural, but the subject changes:

  • Nuestro grupo está muy unido.
    Talking about the group (3rd person): Our group is very united.

  • Estamos muy unidos.
    The group members themselves are speaking (1st person plural): We are very united.

Both express almost the same idea; the difference is just who is speaking and how you frame it.


How would I say it in the plural: “Our groups are very united”?

You need to make both nuestro and unido agree with grupos (masculine plural):

  • Nuestros grupos están muy unidos.

Breakdown:

  • nuestronuestros (because grupos is plural)
  • grupogrupos
  • estáestán (verb agrees with plural grupos)
  • unidounidos (adjective agrees with grupos)

What are the other forms of nuestro and unido?

They change with gender and number of the noun they describe.

Nuestro (possessive adjective):

  • nuestro grupo – our group (masc. singular)
  • nuestra casa – our house (fem. singular)
  • nuestros grupos – our groups (masc. plural)
  • nuestras casas – our houses (fem. plural)

Unido (adjective):

  • unido – masc. singular
  • unida – fem. singular
  • unidos – masc. / mixed plural
  • unidas – fem. plural

Examples:

  • Nuestra familia está muy unida.Our family is very close-knit.
  • Nuestras familias están muy unidas.Our families are very close-knit.

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Nuestro grupo muy unido está?

The normal, neutral word order is:

  • Nuestro grupo está muy unido. (Subject – Verb – Complement)

You cannot say Nuestro grupo muy unido está in modern, everyday Spanish; that sounds unnatural or poetic/archaic at best.

You can sometimes move elements for emphasis, but not freely:

  • Está muy unido nuestro grupo. – possible, but marked/emphatic. (Sounds like you’re stressing how united your group is, maybe in contrast to others.)

For learners, it’s best to stick to:

  • Nuestro grupo está muy unido.

What’s the difference between unido and cercano, as in Nuestro grupo es muy cercano?

Both can relate to emotional closeness, but they’re used a bit differently:

  • estar unido (with estar)
    Focus on unity / cohesion: people support each other, act as one, have strong bonds.

  • ser cercano (with ser)
    More about closeness / warmth in relationships, or physical closeness (nearby).

So:

  • Nuestro grupo está muy unido.
    Our group is very united / tight-knit (we act together, we’re a solid team).

  • Nuestro grupo es muy cercano.
    Our group is very close (we are warm, familiar, we share things openly).
    This is less standard than saying tenemos una relación muy cercana (we have a very close relationship).

For the common idea “we’re a very close-knit group,” estar muy unido is the most idiomatic.


Why does está have an accent? What’s the difference between esta and está?

The accent mark changes both pronunciation and meaning:

  • esta (no accent) = this (feminine demonstrative adjective/pronoun)

    • esta casa – this house
  • está (with accent) = is (3rd person singular of estar)

    • está muy unido – is very united

In Nuestro grupo está muy unido, you must use está (with accent) because it’s the verb to be. Without the accent, it would be a completely different word.