El trapo limpio deja el suelo limpísimo.

The clean cloth leaves the floor super clean.

Breakdown of El trapo limpio deja el suelo limpísimo.

• limpio: clean
• dejar: to leave
• el suelo: the floor
• el trapo: the cloth
• limpísimo: super clean

Questions & Answers about El trapo limpio deja el suelo limpísimo.

Why is limpio placed after trapo? In English we say clean cloth, with the adjective before the noun.

In Spanish, the normal position of adjectives is after the noun:

• el trapo limpio = the clean cloth
• el coche rojo = the red car
• una casa grande = a big house

Adjectives can go before the noun, but that usually adds some nuance (more emotional, poetic, or focusing on a subjective quality). For a neutral, factual description like this sentence, noun + adjective (trapo limpio) is the standard order.

What’s the difference between limpio and limpísimo?

Both come from the same root (limpio = clean), but:

• limpio = clean
• limpísimo = very / extremely clean, spotless

Limpísimo is an absolute superlative. It doesn’t mean the cleanest (of a group); it just intensifies the adjective, like very or super clean.

So:

• El suelo está limpio = The floor is clean.
• El suelo está limpísimo = The floor is really clean / spotless.

How is limpísimo formed from limpio? Why isn’t it limpiísimo?

There’s a spelling change when forming the -ísimo superlative:

• Base adjective: limpio
• Drop the ending -io and add -ísimo → limpísimo

So you don’t keep both i vowels; you don’t write limpiísimo.

Other examples:

• frío → fríísimo actually becomes friísimo (also with a spelling adjustment)
• sucio → sucísimo (not suciísimo)

Why do limpio and limpísimo both end in -o?

They must agree in gender and number with the nouns they describe:

• trapo is masculine singular, so: trapo limpio
• suelo is also masculine singular, so: suelo limpísimo

If the nouns were feminine or plural, the adjectives would change:

• la mesa limpia / limpísima (feminine singular)
• los trapos limpios / limpísimos (masculine plural)
• las mesas limpias / limpísimas (feminine plural)

How do I know el trapo limpio is the subject and el suelo is the object? Both have el.

You know from word order and meaning:

• Standard Spanish sentence order is Subject – Verb – Object.
• El trapo limpio comes before the verb deja, so it’s the subject.
• El suelo comes after deja, so it’s the direct object.

Grammatically:

• Subject: El trapo limpio (the thing doing the action)
• Verb: deja
• Direct object: el suelo (the thing affected)

The article el simply shows masculine singular; it doesn’t tell you subject vs. object by itself. Context and position do.

What does deja mean here? I thought dejar meant “to leave (someone/something)” or “to abandon”.

Dejar has several meanings. One common pattern is:

dejar + object + adjective = to leave something in a certain state

So:

• El trapo limpio deja el suelo limpísimo.
  → The clean cloth leaves the floor very clean.

Other examples:

• Esa noticia me dejó triste. = That news left me sad.
• El ejercicio te deja cansado. = The exercise leaves you tired.

So here deja is “makes it end up in that state”, not “abandon”.

What tense and form is deja?

Deja is:

• Present tense (presente de indicativo)
• 3rd person singular form of dejar

Conjugation of dejar (present):

• yo dejo
• tú dejas
• él / ella / usted deja
• nosotros dejamos
• vosotros dejáis
• ellos / ellas / ustedes dejan

In the sentence, the subject is el trapo limpio, so you use deja.

Could I say muy limpio instead of limpísimo? What’s the difference?

Yes, you could say:

• El trapo limpio deja el suelo muy limpio.

Both are correct; the difference is style and emphasis:

• muy limpio: neutral “very clean”
• limpísimo: a bit stronger, often more expressive: “extremely clean / spotless”

In everyday speech, both are used. -ísimo often sounds a bit more emphatic, sometimes more “Spanish-sounding” or expressive.

Can I say el limpio trapo instead of el trapo limpio?

You can say el limpio trapo, but it sounds unusual in normal conversation.

• el trapo limpio = standard, neutral description
• el limpio trapo = more poetic, literary, or giving special emphasis to “clean”

In everyday Spanish from Spain, for a simple descriptive sentence like this, you should stick to noun + adjective: el trapo limpio.

Why is it el trapo and el suelo and not un trapo and un suelo?

Using el (the) vs un (a) depends on whether you’re talking about something specific/known or non-specific:

• El trapo limpio deja el suelo limpísimo.
  → Suggests we’re talking about that particular clean cloth and the floor (maybe the floor in this room).

• Un trapo limpio deja el suelo limpísimo.
  → Means “A clean cloth leaves the floor very clean” – more general, like a rule or a recommendation.

Both are grammatically correct; the original just chooses a more concrete, specific situation.

What’s the difference between trapo and other Spanish words like bayeta or paño?

In Spain:

• trapo: general word for cloth or rag; can sound a bit informal or like an old cloth.
• bayeta: very common in Spain for the cloth specifically used for cleaning surfaces / floors.
• paño: cloth, often a bit more neutral or sometimes higher-register.

So a very natural sentence in Spain could also be:

• La bayeta limpia deja el suelo limpísimo.

But trapo is perfectly correct and common too.

Could I change the word order to El trapo limpio deja limpísimo el suelo?

Yes, that’s also correct:

• El trapo limpio deja el suelo limpísimo. (more neutral)
• El trapo limpio deja limpísimo el suelo. (slight emphasis on limpísimo)

Both are grammatical. Moving limpísimo before el suelo can sound a bit more expressive, giving more weight to how clean it is, but it’s a subtle difference.

Is el in el trapo the same as él (he)? How do I tell them apart?

They’re different words:

• el (without accent) = the (masculine singular article)
  
  • el trapo, el suelo, el coche
• él (with accent) = he (subject pronoun)
  
  • Él limpia el suelo. = He cleans the floor.

In your sentence it’s el (article), not él (pronoun). The accent mark is the key distinction.