Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Desde nuestra ventana vemos tantas nubes como montañas en el horizonte. - From our window we see as many clouds as mountains on the horizon.

Desde nuestra ventana = From our window (as a vantage point)
De nuestra ventana would be odd here; de is more general (“of/from”) and not the natural choice for a physical viewpoint.
En nuestra ventana vemos… would suggest “At our window we see…,” which sounds more like “when we are at the window” or “there is something on the window,” not the visual perspective outwards.

So desde is used when you mean: from this location, looking outward, we see X.

Why is it nuestra ventana and not la ventana? Could you say desde la ventana instead?

Both are possible, but the nuance changes slightly.

Desde nuestra ventana: emphasizes possession – from our window (not someone else’s).
Desde la ventana: more neutral – from the window; in context, it might still mean “our window,” but it feels less personal.

In Spanish, possessive adjectives like mi/tu/su/nuestro are commonly used with body parts and personal objects where English might use “the,” but here the speaker wants to specify that it’s their own window, so nuestra is natural and clear.

Why is it vemos and not miramos or podemos ver?

Ver = to see (perception, what comes into your vision)
Mirar = to look (an intentional action of directing your eyes)
Poder ver = to be able to see / manage to see

In this sentence:

vemos describes what is in our field of vision when we look out.
miramos would mean “we look at so many clouds…,” shifting focus to the action of looking, not simply what is visible.
podemos ver adds the idea of possibility/ability: “we can see as many clouds as mountains.” It’s grammatically correct but slightly heavier, and less neutral than plain vemos.

So vemos is the most natural, simple way to say “we see” in this context.

What does the structure tantas nubes como montañas mean exactly?

Tantas … como … is a comparative structure expressing equality of quantity:

tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas + noun + como + noun
= as much/many [first noun] as [second noun]

Here:

tantas agrees with nubes (feminine plural).
tantas nubes como montañas = as many clouds as (there are) mountains.

It implies that the number of clouds we see and the number of mountains we see is roughly the same, or that they seem to match.

Why is it tantas nubes and not tanto nubes or muchas nubes?

Two separate points:

Agreement:
- tanto agrees in gender and number with the noun:
  - tanto (masc. sing.), tanta (fem. sing.)
  - tantos (masc. pl.), tantas (fem. pl.)
- nube is feminine; plural nubes, so we need tantas:
  tantas nubes
Meaning:
- tantas nubes como montañas = as many clouds as mountains (comparison of equality).
- muchas nubes = many clouds (just quantity, no comparison).

You can’t say tanto nubes because tanto must match nubes in number (plural) and gender (feminine) → tantas nubes.

Why is there no article before nubes and montañas (why not las nubes, las montañas)?

In Spanish, when you talk about an indefinite number of countable items in a general way, you often use the bare plural, especially with quantity words:

tantas nubes = so many / as many clouds (non-specific)
tantas montañas = so many / as many mountains

Adding las would make it sound like you’re talking about a specific, known set:

las nubes = the clouds (a particular group)
las montañas = the mountains (a particular group)

Because the sentence is about a general comparative quantity in the view, not a specific pre-defined group, the article is omitted.

Why does tantas only appear before nubes and not also before montañas?

In Spanish, you normally place tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas only before the first noun in this comparison:

Vemos tantas nubes como montañas.

The structure is understood as:

We see as many clouds as (we see) mountains.

You could say tantas nubes como tantas montañas, but it’s unusual and sounds repetitive or emphatic. The standard, natural pattern is:

tantos/tantas + first noun + como + second noun

Could you change the word order, for example Desde nuestra ventana tantas nubes como montañas vemos?

Spanish word order is fairly flexible, but not all orders sound equally natural.

Most natural here:

Desde nuestra ventana vemos tantas nubes como montañas en el horizonte.

Other possible but less neutral orders:

Vemos tantas nubes como montañas en el horizonte desde nuestra ventana.
(Correct, but the prepositional phrase is heavier at the end.)

Your version:

Desde nuestra ventana tantas nubes como montañas vemos.
This is grammatically possible, but it sounds poetic or marked, not like everyday speech. The normal conversational pattern is subject (often omitted) + verb + object.

Why is the verb in the present tense vemos instead of something like estamos viendo?

In Spanish, the present simple can describe:

A current, general situation:
Desde nuestra ventana vemos… = From our window we (can) see…
A habitual fact:
Whenever we are here, this is what we see.

Estamos viendo (we are seeing / we are looking at right now) puts more emphasis on an ongoing action at this very moment. It would be used if you were describing what you are doing right now as you speak, and even then vemos is often still preferred.

So vemos is the most natural choice for describing the view in general.

Why is it en el horizonte and not something like al horizonte?

En el horizonte = on the horizon / at the horizon (indicating location).
Al horizonte literally means to the horizon (direction/movement towards that point), which doesn’t fit here.

You are not moving to the horizon; you are describing where the clouds and mountains appear in your field of vision. So en (location) is the correct preposition:

en el horizonte = located at the horizon line.

Why is horizonte singular (el horizonte) when there are many mountains and clouds?

El horizonte is a singular noun referring to the line or boundary where the earth and sky appear to meet. There is normally just one horizon from a given viewpoint, even if there are many objects (mountains, clouds) along it.

So:

tantas nubes como montañas = many clouds and many mountains (plural)
en el horizonte = on the (one) horizon (singular)

That combination is perfectly normal: many objects located along a single horizon.