La toalla de lino es suave.

The linen towel is soft.

Breakdown of La toalla de lino es suave.

• ser: to be
• de: of
• la toalla: the towel
• el lino: the linen

Questions & Answers about La toalla de lino es suave.

Why is it de lino and not del lino?

In Spanish de + noun indicates the material something is made of. You only use del (which is de + el) when you need a definite article with a masculine noun (e.g. la tapa del frasco). For materials you drop the article: toalla de lino = towel made of linen.

Why does lino stay masculine even though toalla is feminine?

Lino is its own noun (linen), and nouns ending in -o are usually masculine in Spanish. When you say de lino, lino is just naming the material; its gender doesn’t affect the gender of toalla, which remains feminine.

Why do we use es instead of está for suave?

Spanish uses ser (es) for inherent or permanent qualities, and estar (está) for temporary states or locations. Softness is viewed as an intrinsic quality of the linen towel, so you say es suave.

Why doesn’t suave change its ending to match the feminine toalla?