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Mi edificio es el más alto de la avenida, pero el alquiler no es caro.

Mi edificio es el más alto de la avenida, pero el alquiler no es caro.
My building is the tallest on the avenue, but the rent is not expensive.
FromLesson 12inHardcore Spanish (Spain)

Breakdown of Mi edificio es el más alto de la avenida, pero el alquiler no es caro.

ser
to be
mi
my
pero
but
el
the
de
of
no
not
el edificio
the building
más
most
alto
tall
la avenida
the avenue
el alquiler
the rent
caro
expensive

Questions & Answers about Mi edificio es el más alto de la avenida, pero el alquiler no es caro.

Why is mi used instead of mío in mi edificio?
In Spanish, mi is a possessive adjective that always goes before the noun and does not change for gender or number. Mío, mía, míos, mías are possessive pronouns used to replace a noun or after ser (e.g. Ese edificio es mío). You never say mío edificio.
Why do we use ser (es) and not estar (está) in es el más alto?
Ser expresses inherent or permanent characteristics—like a building’s height. Estar indicates location or temporary states. When you describe a quality (and especially in superlatives), you always use ser.
How do you form the superlative with más in Spanish?

The pattern is:
el / la / los / las + noun + más + adjective + de + group
Here: el edificio más alto de la avenida means “the tallest building on the avenue.” You need the definite article before the noun and the de-phrase to mark the comparison group.

Why do we say de la avenida instead of en la avenida?

In this sentence de la avenida belongs to the superlative construction (“tallest of the avenue”). If you want to express physical location, you’d use en:
Mi edificio está en la avenida.

What does alquiler mean, and why is there an article (el alquiler) after pero?
Alquiler means “rent” (the monthly payment). Spanish generally uses the definite article with nouns when you refer to them as a concept or a specific amount. You omit the article only with possessives (mi edificio) or after certain prepositions, but here you need el alquiler to say “the rent.”
Why is caro placed after no es, and can we soften it with muy?
Adjectives used with ser/estar go after the verb: el alquiler no es caro (“the rent isn’t expensive”). To soften it you can say no es muy caro (“it isn’t very expensive”) or no es nada caro (“it isn’t at all expensive”).
Could we rephrase no es caro as es barato?

Yes. Barato means “cheap.”
– El alquiler no es caro = “The rent isn’t expensive.”
– El alquiler es barato = “The rent is cheap.”
The second is stronger—you’re actively calling it cheap rather than just saying it’s not expensive.

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