Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Su marido a veces es un poco egoísta, pero casi siempre es muy cariñoso. - Her husband is sometimes a bit selfish, but most of the time he is very affectionate.

Context (who’s talking to whom, and about whom) usually makes it clear. If you really need to disambiguate, Spanish often adds de él / de ella / de usted, etc.

Is marido the same as esposo? Which is more common in Spain?

Both marido and esposo mean husband, but the usage is a bit different:

In Spain, marido is the most common everyday word.
- Mi marido = my husband (very normal and neutral)
Esposo sounds a bit more formal or legal in Spain (wedding, legal language, church, written style).
In many parts of Latin America, esposo is more usual and marido can sound more informal or even a bit old‑fashioned, depending on the country.

So in Spain, the sentence is perfectly natural with marido; esposo would also be correct, just a bit more formal or less colloquial.

Why do we use es instead of está in es un poco egoísta and es muy cariñoso?

Spanish uses ser (es) and estar (está) differently:

Ser is used for inherent or characteristic traits:
- Es egoísta. – He is (by nature) selfish.
- Es cariñoso. – He is (by character) affectionate.
Estar is used for temporary states or conditions:
- Está egoísta hoy. – He’s being selfish today (unusually).
- Está muy cariñoso esta noche. – He’s very affectionate tonight (more than usual).

In Su marido a veces es un poco egoísta, pero casi siempre es muy cariñoso, we’re describing his general personality, so ser (es) is the right choice.

What nuance does un poco add in un poco egoísta?

Un poco softens the adjective; it literally means a little / a bit:

Es egoísta. – He is selfish. (direct, stronger)
Es un poco egoísta. – He’s a bit selfish / a little selfish. (softer, more polite)

Using un poco makes the criticism less harsh and more diplomatic. It suggests the quality is present but not in an extreme way.

What’s the difference between un poco egoísta, poco egoísta, and algo egoísta?

They’re all correct but don’t mean exactly the same:

Un poco egoísta
- Most common in speech.
- Means a bit / somewhat selfish.
- The person is selfish to some degree.
Algo egoísta
- Also somewhat / a bit selfish.
- Slightly more formal or literary than un poco, but often interchangeable.
Poco egoísta
- Means not very selfish / hardly selfish.
- It actually weakens the adjective:
  - Es poco egoísta. ≈ He’s not very selfish (almost generous).

So:

un poco egoísta / algo egoísta: he is somewhat selfish.
poco egoísta: he’s not very selfish.

Why is it muy cariñoso and not mucho cariñoso?

In Spanish:

muy is used before adjectives and adverbs:
- muy cariñoso – very affectionate
- muy simpático – very nice
- muy rápido – very fast
mucho / mucha / muchos / muchas is used:
- Before nouns:
  - mucho cariño – a lot of affection
  - mucha paciencia – a lot of patience
- After verbs:
  - Lo quiero mucho. – I love him a lot.

Since cariñoso is an adjective, you must use muy cariñoso, not mucho cariñoso.

What do a veces and casi siempre mean exactly? Are they just sometimes and almost always?

Yes, broadly:

a veces = sometimes, at times
- Suggests it happens occasionally, but not regularly.
casi siempre = almost always, most of the time
- Suggests it happens on the great majority of occasions, with few exceptions.

In this sentence:

a veces es un poco egoísta – sometimes he’s a bit selfish (but not often).
pero casi siempre es muy cariñoso – but most of the time he’s very affectionate.

The contrast shows that the positive trait is predominant.

Can we change the word order, like A veces su marido es... or Su marido es a veces un poco egoísta?

Yes, Spanish is flexible with word order, but some options sound more natural:

Original:
- Su marido a veces es un poco egoísta...
  Very natural.
A veces, su marido es un poco egoísta...
- Also completely natural.
- Placing a veces at the start gives it slightly more emphasis: Sometimes, his/her husband is a bit selfish...
Su marido es a veces un poco egoísta...
- Grammatically correct, and you can hear it, but it’s less common in everyday speech.
- It can sound a bit more formal or “carefully spoken”.

All three are understandable; the first two are the most typical in conversation.

Why does egoísta end in -a if it’s describing a man? Shouldn’t it be egoísto?

Some Spanish adjectives are invariable in gender; they use the same form for masculine and feminine. Many of these end in -ista or -e. Examples:

egoísta – selfish
- un hombre egoísta – a selfish man
- una mujer egoísta – a selfish woman
optimista, pesimista, realista – same for both genders
inteligente – un chico inteligente / una chica inteligente

Only the number changes:

egoísta – singular
egoístas – plural
- Son un poco egoístas. – They are a bit selfish.

By contrast, cariñoso is a regular adjective that changes for gender:

cariñoso (masc. singular) – cariñosos
cariñosa (fem. singular) – cariñosas

How would the sentence change if we were talking about a woman instead of a man?

You’d change the noun and the adjective agreement:

Su mujer a veces es un poco egoísta, pero casi siempre es muy cariñosa.
- mujer = wife (common in Spain; very everyday)
Or, more formal:
- Su esposa a veces es un poco egoísta, pero casi siempre es muy cariñosa.

Key changes:

marido → mujer / esposa
cariñoso → cariñosa (to agree with a feminine subject)
egoísta stays the same, as it does not change with gender.

Why does egoísta have an accent on the í?

The accent mark in egoísta shows where the stress (main emphasis) falls and also indicates how the vowels combine:

It’s pronounced e-go-ÍS-ta (stress on -ís-).
Without the accent (egoista), Spanish rules would normally group oi as a diphthong and might suggest different stress.

The accent does two things:

Marks the stressed syllable (-ís-).
Breaks the o + í into two separate syllables (go-ís) instead of one combined sound.

Similarly: egoísmo (e-go-ÍS-mo).

How do you pronounce cariñoso, especially the ñ?

Cariñoso is pronounced roughly: ka-ree-NYO-so.

Syllables: ca-ri-ño-so

c before a = like English k: ca-
r = a light tap (like the American English tt in water in some accents)
ñ = like the ny sound in canyon or onion:
- niño ≈ “NEE-nyo”
- cariñoso ≈ “ka-ree-NYO-so”
so = like “so” in soda, but shorter

The ñ is its own letter in Spanish, not just an n with a tilde, and it always has that ny sound.