Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mi hermana dice que la uva verde es más agria que el durazno y la pera, pero igual se la come feliz. - My sister says that green grapes are more sour than peaches and pears, but she still eats them happily.

So “la uva verde” doesn’t mean one specific green grape here; it means the category “green grapes” in general. The same applies to “el durazno” and “la pera” in this sentence: they refer to peaches and pears in general, not one specific peach or pear.

Why is it “agria” and not “agrio”?

Adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

uva is feminine singular → la uva
therefore the adjective has to be feminine singular → agria

So:

la uva agria = the sour grape
el durazno agrio = the sour peach
las uvas agrias = the sour grapes
los duraznos agrios = the sour peaches

In “es más agria”, the adjective agria is describing la uva verde, so it stays feminine singular.

Why is the structure “más agria que el durazno y la pera” and not something longer like “más agria que el durazno y la pera son”?

In Spanish (as in English), in a comparison you don’t need to repeat the verb if it’s already clear:

La uva verde es más agria que el durazno y la pera.
Literally: The green grape is more sour than the peach and the pear (are).

Adding another “son” at the end sounds redundant and unnatural:

❌ …más agria que el durazno y la pera son. (grammatically possible but very clunky, people wouldn’t say this)

The standard comparative pattern is:

más + adjective + que + thing you compare with
menos + adjective + que + thing you compare with

Examples:

Este café es más fuerte que el té.
Esta película es menos interesante que la otra.

Why do we say “el durazno y la pera” with articles instead of just “durazno y pera”?

When talking about kinds of things in general, Spanish normally uses the definite article:

El durazno = the peach (as a type, in general)
La pera = the pear (as a type, in general)

So:

La uva verde es más agria que el durazno y la pera.
= Green grapes are more sour than peaches and pears (in general).

Saying:

…más agria que durazno y pera

is possible in some contexts (especially lists, menus, etc.), but in a full sentence describing general truths, the article is the default and sounds more natural.

What does “pero igual” mean here? Is “igual” “equal / the same”?

Literally, igual means equal / the same, but in colloquial Latin American Spanish it often works like “still / anyway / even so”.

In this sentence:

…pero igual se la come feliz.
≈ …but she still eats it happily anyway.

So:

igual here is an adverbial marker of contrast/concession, similar to:
- sin embargo = however
- de todas formas / de todos modos = anyway
- aun así = even so

Some equivalent rewrites:

…pero aun así se la come feliz.
…pero de todos modos se la come feliz.

How does “se la come” work exactly? What do “se” and “la” refer to?

se la come is made of:

se = here, an indirect object pronoun (or a reflexive marker, depending on context)
la = direct object pronoun, feminine singular → refers to la uva verde
come = he/she eats

In your sentence:

Mi hermana = subject
se = refers back to mi hermana (used with comerse, see below)
la = la uva verde
come = eats

So literally:

se la come ≈ she eats it up / she eats it (for herself / completely)

About se:

When you have le/les + lo/la/los/las, Spanish changes le/les to se for sound reasons:
- Ella le la come → ❌
- Ella se la come → ✅
With comerse, se can also be a “completive” or “intensive” reflexive, often implying:
- the whole thing is eaten
- it’s done with more involvement or enjoyment

So se la come often feels stronger than just la come.

Why is it “se la come” and not “come la”?

Object pronouns (like me, te, se, lo, la, le, etc.) usually go before a conjugated verb:

La come. = He/She eats it.
Se la come. = He/She eats it (up).

Come la is not correct word order in standard Spanish unless “la” is an article before a noun:

come la uva = he/she eats the grape

But for a pronoun (“it”), it must go before:

✅ la come
✅ se la come
❌ come la (as a pronoun)

What’s the difference between “comer” and “comerse”?

comer

Neutral “to eat.”

comerse

Often adds a nuance of:
- eating the whole thing, or
- greater involvement/intensity, or
- “for oneself” / enjoyment

Examples:

Mi hermana come uva verde.
= My sister eats green grapes. (neutral statement)
Mi hermana se come la uva verde.
= My sister eats up the green grapes / polishes them off / really goes for them.

In your sentence, “se la come feliz” suggests she really eats them up and enjoys them, despite thinking they’re sour.

Why is it “dice” (simple present) and not “está diciendo”?

In Spanish, the simple present often expresses:

general truths
habits
opinions the person has in general

So:

Mi hermana dice que…
= My sister says that… (this is what she usually says / thinks)

Está diciendo would focus on what she is saying right now, at this moment:

Mi hermana está diciendo que la uva verde es más agria…
= My sister is (right now) saying that green grapes are more sour…

Since the sentence describes her general opinion, dice is correct and natural.

Why do we need “que” after “dice”? Can we say “Mi hermana dice la uva verde es más agria…”?

You must use “que” to introduce a subordinate clause after verbs like decir, pensar, creer, saber etc.:

Mi hermana dice que la uva verde es más agria…
Creo que tienes razón.
Pienso que es buena idea.

Without que, it becomes ungrammatical:

❌ Mi hermana dice la uva verde es más agria…

So the structure is:

[Main clause] + que + [subordinate clause]
Mi hermana dice + que + la uva verde es más agria…

Why is it “feliz” and not an adverb like “felizmente”?

In Spanish, it’s very common to use an adjective to describe the subject’s state while doing an action, not an adverb:

Se la come feliz.
Literally: She eats it (while) happy.
Meaning: She eats it and she is happy doing so.

So feliz here is describing “mi hermana”, not how she eats in a technical sense. Using felizmente (happily) is grammatically possible but sounds more formal or literary and less natural in everyday speech:

✅ Se la come feliz. (very natural)
⚠️ Se la come felizmente. (correct but a bit stiff/rare in conversation)

Other similar structures:

Trabaja contento. = He works (while) happy.
Vuelve cansada. = She comes back tired.

What’s the gender of “uva”, “durazno”, and “pera”, and does it matter much?

Yes, it matters because it affects articles and adjective agreement.

uva → feminine: la uva
pera → feminine: la pera
durazno → masculine: el durazno

So you say:

la uva verde (verde doesn’t change form here)
el durazno maduro
la pera madura

In your sentence, agria agrees with la uva verde:

la uva verde es más agria…

Could we move “igual” and say “pero se la come igual feliz” or “pero se la come igual”?

Yes:

pero se la come igual
= but she still eats it anyway
is very natural and common.
pero se la come igual feliz
is also understandable, but word order feels a bit less smooth. Most speakers would prefer:
- pero igual se la come feliz
- pero se la come igual, feliz. (with a pause or comma in speaking)

Generally, igual is flexible in position, but “pero igual se la come…” is a very common and natural pattern in Latin American Spanish.