Hoy llevo una camiseta negra y vaqueros cómodos.

Today I’m wearing a black T-shirt and comfortable jeans.

Breakdown of Hoy llevo una camiseta negra y vaqueros cómodos.

• yo: I
• una: a
• hoy: today
• y: and
• llevar: to wear
• cómodo: comfortable
• negro: black
• la camiseta: the T-shirt
• los vaqueros: the jeans

Questions & Answers about Hoy llevo una camiseta negra y vaqueros cómodos.

Why is there no yo in the sentence? Can you say Hoy yo llevo…?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns (like yo, tú, él) because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• Llevo can only be I (yo), so yo is redundant in a neutral context.
• Hoy llevo una camiseta negra y vaqueros cómodos. sounds completely natural.

You can say Hoy yo llevo… but it adds emphasis, like:

• Hoy yo llevo una camiseta negra… = I am wearing a black T‑shirt today (as opposed to someone else, or compared with other days).

So:

• Neutral: Hoy llevo…
• Emphatic/contrasting: Hoy yo llevo…

Why is llevo used here instead of estoy llevando like English I am wearing?

Spanish usually uses the simple present (llevo) for what someone is wearing right now.

• Hoy llevo… = Today I am wearing… (natural, standard)
• Estoy llevando… is grammatically possible but sounds odd in this context; it’s used more for ongoing processes or temporary actions like “I’m carrying / I’m in the process of taking”.

Think of it like this:

• To describe clothes you are wearing now or today: use llevar in the present simple (llevo, llevas, lleva…).
• Reserve estar + gerundio (e.g. estoy llevando) for actions in progress that are not states (carrying, transporting, doing something step by step).

What is the difference between llevar, llevar puesto and tener when talking about clothes?

In Spain, common ways to say you are wearing something are:

• Llevar

  • Hoy llevo una camiseta negra.
    Very common, fully natural: I’m wearing a black T‑shirt today.

• Llevar puesto

  • Hoy llevo puesta una camiseta negra.
    Adds a bit of emphasis to the idea of having it on your body. It can sound slightly more descriptive or explicit, but in everyday speech many people just say llevar.

• Tener (as in tener puesto)

  • Hoy tengo puesta una camiseta negra.
    Also possible, but llevar is more typical in Spain for clothes.

If you want a safe default for “I’m wearing…”, use llevar:

• Hoy llevo…

Why is it una camiseta negra and not una negra camiseta?

In Spanish, the normal position of descriptive adjectives (like colours) is after the noun:

• una camiseta negra = a black T‑shirt
  
  • camiseta (noun)
  • negra (adjective) agrees in gender and number: feminine singular -a

Putting the adjective before the noun (una negra camiseta) is unusual here. Pre‑noun adjectives are used for:

• Certain fixed expressions (la vieja amistad, el gran problema).
• Stylistic or poetic effect.

For clothes and colours, you almost always put the colour after the noun:

• camisa blanca, pantalones azules, zapatos negros.

Why is camiseta feminine (una camiseta negra) but vaqueros masculine (vaqueros cómodos)?

In Spanish, grammatical gender is a property of the noun and must be memorised:

• la camiseta → feminine

  • So we use una and negra (feminine forms):
    • una camiseta negra

• los vaqueros (jeans) → masculine plural

  • So the adjective must be masculine plural:
    • vaqueros cómodos

Adjectives agree with the noun they describe in:

• Gender: masculine/feminine
• Number: singular/plural

So:

• camiseta negra (fem. sing.)
• vaqueros cómodos (masc. pl.)

Why is vaqueros plural? Can you say un vaquero for one pair of jeans?

Clothes that come in pairs are often plural in Spanish:

• los vaqueros = jeans
• los pantalones = trousers
• las gafas = glasses

When you refer to one pair of jeans, Spanish still normally uses the plural:

• unos vaqueros = a pair of jeans

Un vaquero in most contexts means a cowboy, not “one jean”. For clothing, think vaqueros = “jeans / pair of jeans” in everyday speech.

Why is there no article before vaqueros cómodos? Why not unos vaqueros cómodos?

Both are possible:

• Hoy llevo una camiseta negra y vaqueros cómodos.
• Hoy llevo una camiseta negra y unos vaqueros cómodos.

In Spanish, indefinite plural nouns (some X, any X) often omit the article when speaking generally:

• Compro libros interesantes. = I buy interesting books.
• Llevo vaqueros cómodos. = I’m wearing comfortable jeans.

Adding unos can:

• Make it sound a bit more specific or “a certain pair”:
  unos vaqueros cómodos = some (particular) comfortable jeans.
• Sometimes emphasize quantity a little: “a pair of / some”.

In this sentence, with or without “unos” is fine; without it sounds very natural.

Is vaqueros the usual word for “jeans” in Spain? Are there alternatives?

In Spain, the most common word for “jeans” is:

• (los) vaqueros

Other options:

• (los) pantalones vaqueros = literally “jeans trousers”; also common.
• (los) jeans is understood and used, but vaqueros is more typically peninsular Spanish.

In much of Latin America, people often say:

• jeans, pantalones de mezclilla (Mexico), pantalones de jean, etc.

If you’re focusing on Spain, vaqueros is the safest everyday choice.

Why are the adjectives after the nouns in camiseta negra and vaqueros cómodos? Can they go before?

The default position is noun + adjective:

• camiseta negra
• vaqueros cómodos

This is especially true for:

• Colours: camisa roja, zapatos blancos
• Most physical descriptions: coche nuevo, casa grande

You can sometimes put adjectives before the noun, but this usually:

• Changes the nuance (more subjective, emotional, or literary), or
• Is limited to certain common adjectives: bueno, malo, gran, pobre, etc.

With clothes and colours, pre‑noun position generally sounds unnatural:

• ❌ una negra camiseta (odd in everyday speech)
• ✅ una camiseta negra (normal)

Could I use llevo here to mean “I’m carrying” instead of “I’m wearing”? How do I know which meaning it has?

Llevar can mean both to wear and to carry / to take, so context is important.

In this sentence:

• una camiseta negra y vaqueros cómodos are clearly items of clothing, so llevo = “I’m wearing”.

If you were talking about objects you might carry:

• Hoy llevo una mochila y una maleta.
  Here llevo = “I’m carrying / I have with me”.

To avoid ambiguity, speakers can add:

• llevar puesto / llevar puesta for clothes:
  • Hoy llevo puesta una camiseta negra.
• Other verbs for carrying:
  • llevar encima, llevar en la mano, llevar en la mochila, etc.

But in everyday conversation, the meaning is almost always clear from the objects mentioned.

Can hoy go in other positions? For example Llevo hoy… or Llevo… hoy?

Yes, hoy is flexible in position. All of these are grammatically correct:

• Hoy llevo una camiseta negra y vaqueros cómodos.
• Llevo hoy una camiseta negra y vaqueros cómodos.
• Llevo una camiseta negra y vaqueros cómodos hoy.

Differences:

• Hoy llevo… is the most natural, neutral option.
• Llevo hoy… can sound a bit more formal or emphasize today slightly.
• … vaqueros cómodos hoy. emphasizes today at the end, often contrasting with other days.

For everyday speech, put hoy at the beginning or just after the verb:

• Hoy llevo… is the most typical.

How is llevo and vaqueros pronounced in Spain? Does ll sound like English y?

In most of Spain, due to yeísmo:

• llevo is pronounced like yevo:

  • Approx: [ˈʝe.βo] or [ˈʝe.bo]
  • The ll is like a soft English y in yes, not like lli in million.

• vaqueros:

  • Approx: [baˈke.ɾos]
  • The v is pronounced very similar to b.
  • The r is a single tap, like the tt in American English “water” when pronounced quickly.

So you can roughly say:

• llevo → “YEH-bo”
• vaqueros → “ba-KEH-ros”