El actor es muy famoso en nuestra ciudad.

The actor is very famous in our city.

Breakdown of El actor es muy famoso en nuestra ciudad.

• ser: to be
• en: in
• muy: very
• nuestro: our
• la ciudad: the city
• famoso: famous
• el actor: the actor

Questions & Answers about El actor es muy famoso en nuestra ciudad.

Why does the sentence use “El actor” and not just “Actor” or “Un actor”?

In Spanish you normally need an article before a singular countable noun when you’re talking about a specific person or thing.

• El actor = the actor (a specific actor that both speaker and listener know about)
• Un actor = an actor (not a specific one, just one of many)
• Just Actor at the beginning of a sentence sounds wrong in standard Spanish in this context.

Here, we clearly mean a particular actor who is very famous in our city, so el (the definite article) is natural.

How would I say “the actress” instead of “the actor”?

Spanish makes a gender distinction here:

• el actor = the (male) actor
• la actriz = the (female) actor / actress

So the sentence would be:

• La actriz es muy famosa en nuestra ciudad.

Notice:

• The noun changes: actor → actriz
• The article changes: el → la
• The adjective also changes to agree with the feminine noun: famoso → famosa

Why is it “es” and not “está” in “El actor es muy famoso”?

Spanish has two verbs for “to be”: ser and estar.

• Ser is used for more permanent, inherent or defining characteristics.
• Estar is used for temporary states or locations.

Fame is seen as a (relatively) stable characteristic of the person’s public image, so Spanish uses ser:

• El actor es muy famoso.
  The actor is very famous. (general, lasting quality)

Using está here (El actor está muy famoso) sounds odd in most contexts and is usually avoided.

Is “El actor está muy famoso” ever possible?

It’s grammatically possible, but it sounds strange and is rarely used.

If you do hear something like:

• Últimamente el actor está muy famoso.

it would sound like slangy or very colloquial speech, and usually implies:

• “He’s suddenly become very famous recently / he’s currently having a period of fame.”

Standard, natural Spanish for that idea is more like:

• Últimamente el actor se ha vuelto muy famoso.
• Últimamente el actor se ha hecho muy famoso.
• Últimamente el actor es muy famoso. (with extra context to mark it as a recent change)

Why is it “muy famoso” and not “mucho famoso”?

In Spanish:

• muy = very
  • adjective/adverb
    
    • muy famoso, muy alto, muy rápido
• mucho / mucha / muchos / muchas = a lot of
  • noun, or a lot as an adverb
    
    • mucho dinero, muchas personas
    • Come mucho. (He eats a lot.)

Because “famoso” is an adjective, you must use muy:

• ✅ muy famoso = very famous
• ❌ mucho famoso (incorrect)

Why does “famoso” end in -o? How would it change for different people?

Adjectives in Spanish agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they describe.

Base form of the adjective: famoso.

• Masculine singular: famoso
  
  • el actor famoso
• Feminine singular: famosa
  
  • la actriz famosa
• Masculine plural: famosos
  
  • los actores famosos
• Feminine plural: famosas
  
  • las actrices famosas

So:

• El actor es muy famoso. (masculine singular)
• La actriz es muy famosa. (feminine singular)

Why is the preposition “en” used in “en nuestra ciudad” and not “de” or “por”?

Here’s the nuance:

• en nuestra ciudad = in our city (location)
  
  • He is famous within the city’s limits.
• de nuestra ciudad = of/from our city
  
  • Could mean “the actor from our city” or “our city’s actor,” talking about origin or belonging.
• por nuestra ciudad (with “famoso”) would sound off or unnatural in this exact sentence.

So:

• El actor es muy famoso en nuestra ciudad.
  He is very famous in our city. (people there know him)

If you wanted to say he is from that city:

• El actor es de nuestra ciudad.
  The actor is from our city.

Why is it “nuestra ciudad” and not “nuestro ciudad”?

The possessive must agree with the grammatical gender and number of the noun it modifies, not with the speaker.

• ciudad is grammatically feminine singular → la ciudad.
• So you must use the feminine singular possessive: nuestra (our).

Possessive forms for “our”:

• Masculine singular: nuestro (nuestro coche)
• Feminine singular: nuestra (nuestra ciudad)
• Masculine plural: nuestros (nuestros amigos)
• Feminine plural: nuestras (nuestras casas)

So:

• ✅ nuestra ciudad
• ❌ nuestro ciudad

Can I change the word order, for example: “En nuestra ciudad, el actor es muy famoso”?

Yes. Spanish word order is flexible, especially for emphasis or style.

All of these are correct, with slightly different focus:

• El actor es muy famoso en nuestra ciudad.
  Neutral statement; normal order.

• En nuestra ciudad, el actor es muy famoso.
  Emphasis on the place: In our city, the actor is very famous (maybe not elsewhere).

• El actor, en nuestra ciudad, es muy famoso.
  Slightly more marked, with a pause; also highlighting place as extra information.

The original sentence is the most neutral and common.

Could I just say “El actor es famoso en nuestra ciudad” without “muy”?

Yes.

• El actor es famoso en nuestra ciudad. = The actor is famous in our city.
• El actor es muy famoso en nuestra ciudad. = The actor is very famous in our city.

The only difference is degree:

• famoso = famous
• muy famoso = very famous

How would the sentence change in the plural: “The actors are very famous in our city”?

You must make the noun, article, and adjective plural:

• Los actores son muy famosos en nuestra ciudad.

Changes:

• el actor → los actores (noun and article to plural)
• es → son (third person singular → plural)
• famoso → famosos (adjective plural masculine)

How do you pronounce “actor” and “ciudad” and where is the stress?

actor

• Pronunciation (approx. for English speakers): [ak-TOR]
• The “c” is like English k.
• The “r” is a single tapped /r/ (quick tongue tap).
• Stress is on the second syllable: ac-TOR.

ciudad

• Pronunciation: [thyu-DAD] in most of Spain (Castilian; c/z and soft d like English “th” in “this”), or [syu-DAD] in Latin America.
• The “ciu” sounds like “syu” or “thyu”.
• Stress is on the second syllable: ciu-DAD.

Accent rule:

• Words ending in a consonant other than -n or -s are normally stressed on the last syllable → acTOR.
  (No written accent needed.)
• Words ending in -d follow the same rule → ciuDAD.