Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): En mi ciudad sopla tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo. - In my city as much wind blows as in my grandfather’s village.

Sopla is the 3rd person singular, present tense: “it blows”.
The implied subject is el viento (the wind), which appears right after the verb:
sopla tanto viento ≈ “so much wind blows / as much wind blows”.

Spanish often uses soplar with viento:

Sopla mucho viento. – A lot of wind is blowing.
Sopla un viento muy frío. – A very cold wind is blowing.

So here sopla viento = wind is blowing, which is a natural way to talk about wind in Spanish.

Who is the grammatical subject of sopla in “sopla tanto viento”, and why is the verb singular?

The grammatical subject is viento:

sopla tanto viento
– verb: sopla
– subject: viento (a singular noun)

Spanish often allows the subject after the verb. You could also say:

Tanto viento sopla en mi ciudad.
En mi ciudad, tanto viento sopla.

The verb is singular (sopla) because viento is singular. Even though in English “wind” feels like a mass/uncountable noun, in Spanish it is grammatically a singular count noun, so the verb agrees in singular: sopla (not soplan).

Why is it tanto viento and not tan viento?

Spanish distinguishes:

tan + adjective/adverb
- tan alto – so tall
- tan rápido – so fast
tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas + noun
- tanto viento – so much wind
- tanta lluvia – so much rain
- tantos coches – so many cars

In the sentence, viento is a noun, so we must use tanto (not tan):

tanto viento = “so much wind / as much wind”.

Also, tanto agrees in gender and number with the noun:

tanto viento (masculine singular)
tanta lluvia (feminine singular)
tantos días (masculine plural)
tantas personas (feminine plural)

What is the structure “tanto viento como…”? Is it a special type of comparison?

Yes. It’s the comparison of equality with a noun:

tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas + noun + como + (other element)

Meaning: “as much/many [noun] as …”

Examples:

En mi ciudad sopla tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo.
As much wind blows in my city as in my grandfather’s town.
Tengo tanta paciencia como tú. – I have as much patience as you.
Comes tantos dulces como tu hermano. – You eat as many sweets as your brother.

So here tanto viento como… = “as much wind as…”

What’s the difference between “tanto viento como” and “tanto viento que”?

They express different ideas:

tanto viento como = as much wind as (comparison)
- En mi ciudad sopla tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo.
  There is the same amount of wind.
tanto viento que = so much wind that (consequence)
- En mi ciudad sopla tanto viento que es difícil caminar.
  There is so much wind that it’s hard to walk.

So:

tanto…como → comparison of equality
tanto…que → cause → consequence

Could I say “En mi ciudad hay tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo” or “En mi ciudad hace tanto viento…” instead of sopla tanto viento? Are they correct in Spain?

Yes, both are correct and quite natural, especially in Spain:

hay tanto viento
- En mi ciudad hay tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo.
  Focuses on the amount/existence of wind: there is as much wind…
hace (mucho/tanto) viento
- Very common in Spain:
  Hoy hace mucho viento. – It’s very windy today.
  En mi ciudad hace tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo. Here hacer is an impersonal verb used for weather.
sopla tanto viento
- Slightly more “literal”: the wind is blowing.
- Emphasizes the action of the wind rather than just its presence.

All three are grammatically correct; they differ mainly in nuance and style, not in basic meaning.

Why isn’t viento repeated after como? Would it be wrong to say “tanto viento como viento en el pueblo…”?

Spanish normally avoids repeating the same noun when it’s clear from context. This is called ellipsis.

En mi ciudad sopla tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo.
literally: “In my city blows as much wind as (blows) in my grandfather’s town.”
The second viento is understood and omitted.

You could say:

…tanto viento como (viento) en el pueblo de mi abuelo.

but actually repeating viento:

…tanto viento como viento en el pueblo…

sounds redundant and unnatural in Spanish. Native speakers simply drop the second viento, just as in English you usually say:

“as much wind as in my grandfather’s town”
(not “as much wind as wind in…”).

Why is it “el pueblo de mi abuelo” and not something like “el pueblo mi abuelo” or a form with ’s like English “my grandfather’s town”?

Spanish shows possession with de + noun/pronoun, not with an ’s ending:

el pueblo de mi abuelo – my grandfather’s town
el coche de María – María’s car
la casa de mis padres – my parents’ house

You cannot say:

el pueblo mi abuelo ❌ (missing de)
el pueblo de abuelo mío ❌ (very unnatural / wrong here)

So the correct pattern is:

el [noun] de [possessor]
→ el pueblo de mi abuelo

Why does it say “mi ciudad” without an article, but “el pueblo de mi abuelo” with an article?

Because Spanish behaves differently with possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su, etc.):

With a possessive like mi, tu, su, you normally do not add an article:
- mi ciudad – my city
- mi casa – my house
- mis amigos – my friends
With de + person, you do use an article with most common nouns:
- el pueblo de mi abuelo – my grandfather’s town
- la casa de mi hermana – my sister’s house
- el coche de mi padre – my father’s car

So:

mi ciudad (no article)
el pueblo de mi abuelo (article + noun + de + possessor)

There are some special set phrases where Spanish omits the article with de, like:

en casa de mi abuelo – at my grandfather’s house

But pueblo is not one of those special cases, so you need the article: el pueblo de mi abuelo.

In this context, what exactly does pueblo mean? Does it mean “people” or “village/town”?

Pueblo has several meanings; in this sentence it means “village” or “small town”.

Common meanings of pueblo:

Village / small town
- El pueblo de mi abuelo – my grandfather’s village/small town
People (as a group, often with a political or social sense)
- La voz del pueblo. – The voice of the people.
- El pueblo español. – The Spanish people.

Here, next to abuelo, it clearly refers to a place (his town), not to people.

Are there other natural word orders for this sentence in Spanish, or does it have to be “En mi ciudad sopla tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo”?

You can change the word order a bit without changing the meaning. All of these are natural:

En mi ciudad sopla tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo.
Sopla tanto viento en mi ciudad como en el pueblo de mi abuelo.
En mi ciudad sopla tanto viento como en el pueblo de mi abuelo sopla. (possible, but the final sopla is usually omitted as in the original)

Word order in Spanish is fairly flexible as long as:

the verb agrees with its subject, and
the sentence remains clear.

The original version is very natural and typical: [place] + [verb] + [quantity] + [comparison].