Tenías razón: la cuchara es más cómoda que el tenedor para comer sopa.

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Breakdown of Tenías razón: la cuchara es más cómoda que el tenedor para comer sopa.

• comer: to eat
• tú: you
• para: for
• más: more
• cómodo: comfortable
• la cuchara: the spoon
• la sopa: the soup
• la razón: the reason
• el tenedor: the fork

Questions & Answers about Tenías razón: la cuchara es más cómoda que el tenedor para comer sopa.

Why does the sentence use tenías instead of tuviste?

Tenías is in the imperfect tense, which conveys a past action or state that wasn’t completed or that continued for a while. In contrast, tuviste is the preterite tense, which refers to a completed action in the past. Here, the speaker is recalling that “You were right” as an ongoing or previously held state of being correct, rather than a one-time event.

What’s the difference between saying tenías razón and using something like estabas en lo correcto?

Both expressions mean that someone was correct, but tenías razón is more common and direct for “You were right.” Estabas en lo correcto also works, but it sounds slightly more formal or literal in meaning. In everyday speech, tenías razón is how you’d most naturally say it.

Why is la cuchara feminine and el tenedor masculine?

In Spanish, nouns have a grammatical gender that often doesn’t follow a logical pattern. Words ending in -a are commonly feminine (like cuchara), and words ending in -or are often masculine (like tenedor). It’s mostly a matter of memorizing the gender for each noun rather than applying a strict universal rule.

Is it normal to say más cómoda to compare comfort?

Yes. Cómodo(a) means “comfortable” or “convenient.” In this context, más cómoda just indicates that the spoon is more convenient or better suited for eating soup than the fork. This is the standard way to form a comparison in Spanish.

Why is para comer sopa used instead of por comer sopa?

Para generally indicates the purpose or goal of an action (“in order to”), while por has other uses, such as cause, exchange, or duration. In this sentence, para comer sopa shows the spoon’s purpose: it’s specifically used to eat soup.