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El pasillo del restaurante es larguísimo.

El pasillo del restaurante es larguísimo.
The restaurant's hallway is very long.

Breakdown of El pasillo del restaurante es larguísimo.

ser
to be
de
of
el pasillo
the hallway
el restaurante
the restaurant
larguísimo
very long
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Questions & Answers about El pasillo del restaurante es larguísimo.

Why is it del restaurante and not de el restaurante or de la restaurante?

In Spanish, de + el contracts to del. So:

  • de + el restaurante → del restaurante

You must use the contraction; de el restaurante is grammatically wrong.

You don’t use de la here because restaurante is masculine, and masculine singular nouns take el, not la:

  • el restaurante (masculine) → del restaurante
  • la tienda (feminine) → de la tienda

So del restaurante just means “of the restaurant / the restaurant’s.”

What does pasillo mean exactly? Is it hallway, corridor, or aisle?

Pasillo can be translated in several ways depending on context:

  • Hallway / corridor inside a building (like here):
    • El pasillo del restaurante → The restaurant hallway / corridor
  • Aisle in a plane, train, theater, or supermarket:
    • pasillo del avión → the airplane aisle
    • pasillos del supermercado → the supermarket aisles

So the core idea is: a long, narrow passage where people walk.

Why is it El pasillo and not La pasillo? How do I know the gender?

Pasillo ends in -o, and most nouns ending in -o are masculine in Spanish. That’s why it takes the masculine article el:

  • el pasillo (masculine)
  • la puerta (feminine, ends in -a)

There are exceptions (like la mano), but -o → usually masculine, -a → usually feminine is a good general rule, and pasillo follows it.

Why do we use es instead of está here?

Ser (es) is used for inherent or defining characteristics, such as size, shape, color, and general description:

  • El pasillo es larguísimo. → Being very long is considered a defining feature of that hallway.

Estar is used for states or conditions that are temporary or the result of a change:

  • El pasillo está sucio. → The hallway is (currently) dirty.
  • El pasillo está lleno de gente. → The hallway is full of people.

Length is seen as a permanent characteristic, so es is the natural choice.

What does larguísimo mean, and how is it different from largo or muy largo?
  • largo = long
  • muy largo = very long
  • larguísimo = extremely long / super long

Larguísimo is a “absolute superlative” formed by adding -ísimo to the adjective. It usually sounds stronger and more emphatic than muy largo.

Nuance in English:

  • largo → long
  • muy largo → very long
  • larguísimo → really/so/extremely long
How is larguísimo formed from largo? Why is there an accent on the í?

To form the -ísimo superlative:

  1. Take the masculine singular adjective: largo.
  2. Drop the final -o: larg-.
  3. Add -ísimo: larguísimo.

A small spelling change happens: g + i in Spanish is normally a soft sound (like in girar), but largo has a hard g (like in go). To keep that hard sound before i, Spanish inserts a u:

  • larg + ísimo → largísimo but spelled larguísimo to preserve the hard g sound.

The accent on í (larguísimo) is there because the stress moves to that syllable. The tilde marks the stressed vowel: lar-guí-si-mo.

Does larguísimo have to agree with pasillo? What would it look like in feminine or plural?

Yes, adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

Here, pasillo is masculine singular, so:

  • el pasillo es larguísimo (masculine singular)

Other forms:

  • Feminine singular: larguísima
    • La calle es larguísima. – The street is extremely long.
  • Masculine plural: larguísimos
    • Los pasillos son larguísimos. – The hallways are extremely long.
  • Feminine plural: larguísimas
    • Las calles son larguísimas. – The streets are extremely long.

The root larguísim- stays; only the ending changes: -o, -a, -os, -as.

Could I say El larguísimo pasillo del restaurante instead? Is that correct?

Yes, El larguísimo pasillo del restaurante is correct Spanish.

Difference in feel:

  • El pasillo del restaurante es larguísimo.
    • Neutral word order: subject + verb + adjective. Simple description.
  • El larguísimo pasillo del restaurante...
    • Adjective before the noun adds a bit more expressiveness or emphasis. It can sound more stylistic or dramatic, like “the incredibly long hallway of the restaurant”.

Both are grammatically fine; the original is more neutral and common in everyday speech.

Could I say El pasillo del restaurante es muy largo instead of larguísimo? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

  • El pasillo del restaurante es muy largo.

Both sentences are correct; they just differ in intensity:

  • muy largo = very long
  • larguísimo = extremely long / ridiculously long

Larguísimo usually sounds stronger and more expressive than muy largo, sometimes with a slightly exaggerated feel.

Why is it del restaurante and not en el restaurante to mean “in the restaurant”?

Del restaurante literally means “of the restaurant” → it expresses possession or belonging:

  • El pasillo del restaurante = the hallway of the restaurant / the restaurant’s hallway
    (It’s the restaurant’s own hallway.)

En el restaurante means “in the restaurant” → location:

  • El pasillo en el restaurante = the hallway in the restaurant
    (Any hallway that happens to be located inside the restaurant.)

In most contexts, when you talk about “the restaurant’s hallway,” Spanish prefers del restaurante, not en el restaurante.

If I wanted to say “The restaurant’s hallway is very long”, can I use the English-style apostrophe, like el restaurante’s pasillo?

No. Spanish does not use the English apostrophe-s for possession.

Instead, Spanish uses de (or del):

  • El pasillo del restaurante es muy largo.
    = The restaurant’s hallway is very long.

Structure to remember:

  • [the thing owned] + de(l) + [owner]
    • el coche de Juan → Juan’s car
    • el pasillo del restaurante → the restaurant’s hallway