Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Nuestro nuevo profesor es muy majo, pero a veces parece serio en clase. - Our new teacher is very nice, but sometimes he seems serious in class.

In Spain, majo/maja is very common and colloquial.
It’s often used for people: Es muy majo = “He’s really nice.”
It can sometimes also mean “cute / nice” for things: un barrio muy majo = “a nice neighbourhood.”

In most of Latin America, majo is rare or not used with this meaning. There, people more often say simpático, amable, or buena onda (very informal).

Could I say simpático instead of majo? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Nuestro nuevo profesor es muy simpático, pero a veces parece serio en clase.

Similarities:

Both majo and simpático can mean “nice / pleasant / likable.”

Differences:

majo is more colloquial and very characteristic of Spain.
simpático is standard and understood everywhere in the Spanish-speaking world.
simpático focuses more on being pleasant / likable.
majo often feels a bit more informal, friendly, everyday speech.

So in Spain both are fine; majo sounds more local/colloquial, simpático more neutral.

Why is it es muy majo and not está muy majo?

Because ser is used for general, lasting qualities of a person, especially personality:

Es muy majo = “He is (in general) a really nice person.”

If you say está muy majo, the meaning changes. It usually refers to a temporary state, often physical appearance:

Hoy está muy majo con esa chaqueta.
“He looks really nice today in that jacket.”

So:

ser + majo → general character
estar + majo → temporary state, appearance, or a specific situation

In your sentence, they’re describing what the teacher is like as a person, so es is correct.

Why is it parece serio and not just es serio?

The verb parecer means “to seem / to appear.”

A veces parece serio en clase.
“Sometimes he seems serious in class.”

This implies:

Maybe he isn’t actually serious as a person.
It’s only the impression he gives, especially in class.

If you said:

A veces es serio en clase.
That would mean “Sometimes he is serious in class” (not just appears that way) – it’s stating it as a fact, not just an impression.

So parece serio softens the statement: it’s how he comes across, not necessarily his true nature.

What’s the structure parecer + adjective? How does it work?

Parecer + adjective is a very common pattern:

parecer = “to seem / to appear”
parece serio = “he seems serious”

Examples:

Parece cansado. – He seems tired.
Parece difícil. – It seems difficult.
Tus amigos parecen simpáticos. – Your friends seem nice.

Contrast this with parecerse a + noun, which means “to look like / to resemble”:

Se parece a su padre. – He looks like his father.

In your sentence, we’re using parecer + adjective, the “seems X” pattern.

What does a veces mean, and where can it go in the sentence?

A veces means “sometimes.”

In your sentence:

…pero a veces parece serio en clase.
“…but sometimes he seems serious in class.”

Common positions:

A veces parece serio en clase.
A veces, parece serio en clase. (comma optional)
Parece serio en clase a veces.

Most natural are:

A veces + verb… (especially at the start or just after pero)
Or after the verb: Parece a veces serio en clase (possible, but less common and more marked in everyday speech).

Your original position (pero a veces parece…) is very natural.

Why is there no él before es or parece?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) when the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

(Él) es muy majo.
(Él) parece serio.

Es and parece are 3rd person singular, so we already know it’s él (or ella or usted from context). Adding él is only necessary when:

you want to contrast:
Él es majo, pero ella es borde. – He is nice, but she is rude.
or to clarify if the subject is ambiguous.

So normally: no pronoun needed.

Why is it nuestro nuevo profesor and not nuevo profesor nuestro?

Two things are happening here:

Possessive adjective position
Short possessives (mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro) go before the noun:
- nuestro profesor – our teacher
- mi casa – my house
- nuestra amiga – our (female) friend
The long forms (mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, etc.) go after the noun and usually need an article:
- un profesor nuestro – a teacher of ours
- esa amiga nuestra – that friend of ours
So nuevo profesor nuestro would be very unusual here.
Adjective order
Normal order for this kind of phrase:
- Possessive + adjective + noun
- nuestro nuevo profesor – our new teacher

So nuestro nuevo profesor is the natural, standard order.

Why is nuevo before profesor? Can it go after?

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things:

nuestro nuevo profesor (adjective before noun)
- Usual meaning: “our new teacher” (recently arrived, the one who just started).
- Focus on “new to us.”
nuestro profesor nuevo (adjective after noun)
- Possible, but less common in this context.
- Often interpreted more literally as “our teacher who is new (brand‑new / unused / recently made)” – this sounds odd with profesor, but makes sense with objects:
  - un coche nuevo – a new (brand‑new) car

For people in the “recently arrived” sense, nuevo profesor (before the noun) is the normal choice.

How do the words agree in gender and number? Why nuestro nuevo profesor and not something else?

In Spanish, adjectives and possessives must agree with the noun in gender (masc./fem.) and number (sing./pl.).

The noun profesor is:

masculine
singular

So everything that refers to it must match:

nuestro (masc. sing.) – our
nuevo (masc. sing.) – new
profesor (masc. sing.) – teacher

If it were a woman:

nuestra nueva profesora – our new (female) teacher

If there were several:

nuestros nuevos profesores – our new (male/mixed) teachers
nuestras nuevas profesoras – our new (female) teachers

What’s the difference between profesor and maestro?

Usage depends on the country, but generally:

profesor / profesora
- Common for secondary school, high school, university.
- In Spain, it’s the normal word for most teachers from around age 12 upwards.
maestro / maestra
- Often used for primary/elementary school teachers.
- Also can mean “master” in a field (e.g. maestro de música).

In Spain, for a school teacher (especially at secondary level), profesor is usually the most natural word.

Why is it en clase and not en la clase?

Both are possible, but they sound slightly different:

en clase (no article)
- Means “in class / during class” in a general sense.
- Focus is on the activity of being in class.
- A veces parece serio en clase.
  “Sometimes he seems serious in class (when he’s teaching).”
en la clase (with article)
- Refers more to a specific class / classroom / lesson:
- A veces parece serio en la clase de matemáticas.
  “Sometimes he seems serious in (the) maths class.”

In your sentence, we’re talking generally about how he is when teaching, so en clase is more natural.

How do you conjugate parecer in the present for different people?

Parecer is regular in the present, except for the yo form (it adds a -zco). Present tense:

yo parezco – I seem
tú pareces – you seem
él / ella / usted parece – he / she / you (formal) seem(s)
nosotros / nosotras parecemos – we seem
vosotros / vosotras parecéis – you (plural, Spain) seem
ellos / ellas / ustedes parecen – they / you (plural) seem

In your sentence:

parece = 3rd person singular (he/she/usted).

Why is there a comma before pero?

In Spanish, it’s standard to place a comma before “pero” when it links two clauses:

Nuestro nuevo profesor es muy majo, pero a veces parece serio en clase.

The comma marks a contrast:

Clause 1: es muy majo – he is very nice.
Clause 2: a veces parece serio – but sometimes he seems serious.

You can almost think of it like in English:
“Our new teacher is very nice, but sometimes he seems serious in class.”