Breakdown of Esa corona es más ligera que la que vimos en el museo, pero parece cara.
ser
to be
en
at
pero
but
nosotros
we
ver
to see
más
more
esa
that
la que
the one
ligero
light
parecer
to seem
el museo
the museum
que
than
caro
expensive
la corona
the crown
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Questions & Answers about Esa corona es más ligera que la que vimos en el museo, pero parece cara.
What does esa mean and how is it different from esta or aquella?
esa is a feminine singular demonstrative adjective meaning that. Unlike esta, meaning this (closer to the speaker), and aquella, meaning that over there (farther from both speaker and listener), esa points to something relatively close to the listener or a bit farther from both. In English it corresponds to that.
How do you form a comparative in Spanish with más ligera que?
In Spanish, to compare qualities you use más + adjective + que (than). Here más ligera que literally means more light than, i.e. lighter than. For the opposite (less…), you use menos + adjective + que.
Why is it ligera and not ligero?
Adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Since corona is feminine singular, the adjective takes the feminine form ligera. If it were a masculine noun, you would use ligero.
There are two instances of que in the sentence. Do they serve the same function?
No. The first que is part of the comparative construction (más… que = than). The second que is a relative pronoun meaning which, introducing the clause que vimos en el museo (which we saw at the museum).
Why do we say la que vimos en el museo and not just que vimos en el museo?
We need a relative pronoun that refers back to esa corona (feminine singular). We drop the noun corona but keep its article/pronoun la to show gender and number. So la que vimos… means the one (feminine) that we saw…, and it avoids repeating the word corona.
Why is there no personal a before la corona when we use vimos?
The personal a in Spanish is used only before direct objects that are people or personified beings. Since la corona is an object and not a person, no a is needed with the verb ver.
What does parece cara mean, and why is it cara not caro?
parecer means to seem or to appear. So parece cara means it seems expensive. The adjective cara is feminine because it refers to corona, which is a feminine noun. If you referred to a masculine noun, you would use caro.
Why use parece instead of es here?
Using es cara would state as a fact that the crown is expensive. parece cara expresses an impression or appearance, indicating that it seems expensive but you may not know for sure.
Why does más have an accent, and can it be written without one?
más with an accent mark is an adverb meaning more. Without the accent (mas) it is a conjunction meaning but (mostly literary or formal). The accent distinguishes the two words, so you must write más when you mean more.