Mis amigas no están acostumbradas a tanta nieve como la de este valle.

My friends are not used to as much snow as in this valley.

Breakdown of Mis amigas no están acostumbradas a tanta nieve como la de este valle.

• mi: my
• estar: to be
• a: to
• la amiga: the friend
• este: this
• .: period
• no: not
• la nieve: the snow
• el valle: the valley
• tanto ... como: as much ... as
• acostumbrado: accustomed
• la de: the one

Questions & Answers about Mis amigas no están acostumbradas a tanta nieve como la de este valle.

Why is it amigas and not amigos?

Because amigas refers specifically to female friends.

• amiga / amigas = female friend / female friends
• amigo / amigos = male friend / male & mixed-gender group

So mis amigas tells you the group is made up only of women. If the group were mixed or all male, you would say mis amigos.

Why is it están acostumbradas and not son acostumbradas?

In Spanish, estar acostumbrado/a is the fixed expression meaning “to be used to” something.

• estar is used for states or conditions: están acostumbradas = “they are (currently) used to”.
• ser + acostumbrado is practically never used in this meaning; it would sound wrong or, at best, very unusual.

So you should always say estar acostumbrado/a (a algo), not ser acostumbrado.

What is the structure estar acostumbrado/a a and how is it used?

Estar acostumbrado/a a means “to be used to”, “to be accustomed to”.

Pattern:

• estar + acostumbrado/a/os/as + a + noun/infinitive

Examples:

• Estoy acostumbrado a la nieve. = I am used to snow.
• Estamos acostumbrados a tanta lluvia. = We are used to so much rain.
• Estoy acostumbrada a levantarme temprano. = I’m used to getting up early.

In your sentence:
no están acostumbradas a tanta nieve = “they are not used to so much snow.”

Why is acostumbradas feminine plural?

Because it has to agree with mis amigas, which is feminine plural.

In Spanish, adjectives and past participles used as adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:

• mi amigo está acostumbrado (masculine singular)
• mis amigos están acostumbrados (masculine / mixed plural)
• mi amiga está acostumbrada (feminine singular)
• mis amigas están acostumbradas (feminine plural)

Here: amigas → acostumbradas.

Why is it tanta nieve and not tan nieve or mucho nieve?

Because:

1. tanto/tanta is used before nouns to mean “so much”, “so many”, or in comparisons with como:

   • tanta nieve = so much snow / as much snow.

2. tan is used before adjectives or adverbs, not nouns:

   • tan fría (so cold), tan rápidamente (so quickly).
     You cannot say ✗ tan nieve.

3. nieve is feminine singular, so the form must be tanta, not tanto.

4. If you used mucho/mucha, it would be mucha nieve, not mucho nieve, because of feminine agreement.

   • mucha nieve = a lot of snow
   • tanta nieve = so much snow / as much snow (here, in a comparison with como).

So tanta nieve is correct and fits the comparative structure tanta … como ….

What does tanta nieve como la de este valle literally mean, and what is la?

Literally, it means “so much snow as (the snow) of this valley”, i.e. “as much snow as this valley has.”

la is a feminine singular pronoun that stands in for nieve:

• la (nieve) de este valle = “the (snow) of this valley”.

Instead of repeating nieve, Spanish often uses el / la / los / las + de + noun to avoid repetition:

• la de este valle = the one of this valley (here: the snow).

Why is it de este valle and not en este valle? Are both possible?

Both are possible, but they focus slightly different ideas:

• de este valle = “of this valley”, more like “this valley’s snow” (origin/association).
• en este valle = “in this valley”, emphasizing location.

So you could also say:

• Mis amigas no están acostumbradas a tanta nieve como en este valle.

That sounds very natural and is common in everyday speech.
de este valle sounds a bit more like you’re talking about the snow that belongs to / characterizes that valley.

Why is there no a before mis amigas? Don’t people usually take a personal a?

The personal a is used for direct objects that are people (or personified animals), not for subjects.

Here, mis amigas is the subject of the sentence:

• Mis amigas (subject) no están acostumbradas a tanta nieve.

If mis amigas were the direct object, you would use the personal a:

• Veo a mis amigas. = I see my friends.
• Ayudo a mis amigas. = I help my friends.

So there’s no a before mis amigas here simply because they are not an object; they’re the subject.

Could we also say Mis amigas no se han acostumbrado a tanta nieve? What’s the difference?

Yes, that’s correct Spanish, but the nuance changes.

• no están acostumbradas = focuses on the current state:
  “they are not (used to) / they are not accustomed (yet).”

• no se han acostumbrado (from acostumbrarse) = focuses on the process of becoming used to something:
  “they haven’t gotten used to it.”

In many contexts they overlap and both would be understood similarly, but:

• estar acostumbradas describes a state.
• se han acostumbrado describes that the process of adaptation has (not) happened.

Why does no go before están and not after it, like están no acostumbradas?

In simple negation, Spanish places no directly before the conjugated verb:

• No están acostumbradas… = They are not used to…

You do not say ✗ están no acostumbradas in normal speech; that word order sounds unnatural or wrong.

Basic pattern:

• No
  • conjugated verb + rest of the sentence
    
    • No quiero café.
    • No vivimos aquí.
    • No están acostumbradas a tanta nieve.