Breakdown of Mi hija cuenta las estrellas y dice que se ven mejor en el campo que en la ciudad.
Questions & Answers about Mi hija cuenta las estrellas y dice que se ven mejor en el campo que en la ciudad.
Spanish uses the simple present (cuenta) much more than English uses “counts”.
- Mi hija cuenta las estrellas can mean:
- My daughter is counting the stars (right now)
- My daughter counts the stars (as a habit)
You only really need está contando when you want to strongly emphasize right this very moment or this ongoing process, e.g.:
- Ahora mismo mi hija está contando las estrellas.
Right now my daughter is counting the stars.
In everyday Spanish, the simple present is the default, even for actions happening now.
Contar has two common meanings:
- To count (numbers, items)
- To tell / to relate (a story, a joke)
You know it means “to count” here because the direct object is las estrellas (the stars), which are things you can count:
- contar las estrellas → to count the stars
Examples of the other meaning:
- Mi hija cuenta un cuento. – My daughter tells a story.
- Me contó un secreto. – She told me a secret.
So the meaning depends on what you’re “contando”.
Here se is not really reflexive in the usual “myself/yourself” sense. It’s the pronominal form of ver: verse, which often means “to look / to appear / to be seen”.
- se ven mejor literally: they see themselves better
- natural English: they look better / they can be seen better / they are seen better
Some examples:
- Las estrellas se ven muy claras hoy.
The stars look very clear today. - Te ves cansado.
You look tired.
So se ven mejor is close to “they look better” or “you can see them better.” It’s a very common way to talk about how things appear visually.
Because the subject is las estrellas, which is plural.
- las estrellas → se ven (3rd person plural)
- singular would be: la estrella → se ve
So:
- Las estrellas se ven mejor en el campo.
The stars look better in the countryside.
If you were talking about something singular:
- La luna se ve mejor en el campo.
The moon looks better in the countryside.
Decir que can take indicative or subjunctive depending on meaning:
Indicative (as in the sentence): used when reporting what someone states as a fact.
- Mi hija dice que se ven mejor en el campo.
My daughter says (claims) they look better in the countryside.
The speaker is just reporting her statement, as something presented as true.
- Mi hija dice que se ven mejor en el campo.
Subjunctive: used when decir has more of an ordering / requesting meaning.
- Le digo que se vea con un médico.
I tell him/her to see a doctor.
- Le digo que se vea con un médico.
In your sentence, she’s not being ordered to do anything; she is just saying something, so indicative (se ven) is correct.
Spanish uses definite articles more often than English, especially:
With things that are specific in context:
Here, it’s clear we’re talking about the stars in the sky we’re looking at, not abstract “stars” in general, so las estrellas feels natural.With places like el campo, la ciudad, when you mean them in a general or generic way:
- en el campo – in the countryside
- en la ciudad – in the city
Leaving the article out here (en campo, en ciudad) is not correct in standard Spanish. The article is almost obligatory with these nouns in this sense.
The choice is about location vs. movement:
- en = in / at (location, where something is)
- a = to (movement, where something is going)
In the sentence, we’re talking about where the stars look better, not about going there:
- Las estrellas se ven mejor en el campo.
The stars look better *in the countryside.* (location)
If you were talking about movement:
- Vamos al campo.
We’re going *to the countryside.
(*a + el → al)
Because campo and ciudad have different grammatical genders:
- el campo → masculine singular
- la ciudad → feminine singular
In Spanish, every noun has a gender, and the article must agree:
- el for masculine singular: el campo, el coche, el árbol
- la for feminine singular: la ciudad, la casa, la luna
So en el campo and en la ciudad are just using the correct article for each noun.
The first que is a conjunction introducing a subordinate clause that reports what she says:
- Mi hija dice que… → My daughter says that…
- …se ven mejor en el campo que en la ciudad.
So:
- Main clause: Mi hija dice (My daughter says)
- Subordinate clause introduced by que: que se ven mejor en el campo que en la ciudad
(that they look better in the countryside than in the city)
The second que is part of a comparison structure:
- mejor … que … → better … than …
So:
- mejor en el campo que en la ciudad
better in the countryside than in the city
In comparisons of inequality you’ll often see:
- más / menos / mejor / peor … que …
- más alto que tú – taller than you
- peor en invierno que en verano – worse in winter than in summer
Mejor is the irregular comparative form of bueno:
- bueno → mejor (good → better)
- malo → peor (bad → worse)
So:
- Son buenas en el campo, pero son mejores en la montaña.
They are good in the countryside, but (they are) better in the mountains.
Más bueno exists, but it usually has a different nuance, often about moral goodness or niceness (especially with people):
- Es más bueno que el pan. – He’s such a good/nice person.
For “better” in most quality or appearance contexts, use mejor.
Yes, it’s grammatically correct; it just changes the focus a bit.
Mi hija cuenta las estrellas.
Neutral; can mean she does it now or as a habit. Very natural as a general statement.Mi hija está contando las estrellas.
Highlights the ongoing action right now. You’d say this if you want to point out what she’s doing at this specific moment, like:
Mira, mi hija está contando las estrellas. – Look, my daughter is counting the stars.
In many contexts where English must use the -ing form, Spanish is still happy with the simple present.
Yes, that version is completely natural:
- En el campo las estrellas se ven mejor que en la ciudad.
Spanish allows relatively flexible word order, especially to emphasize certain elements. The differences are subtle:
Mi hija cuenta las estrellas y dice que se ven mejor en el campo que en la ciudad.
Slightly more neutral focus; we hear “they look better in the countryside” as a whole statement.Mi hija cuenta las estrellas y dice que en el campo se ven mejor que en la ciudad.
Puts a bit more emphasis on en el campo (in the countryside).
All these word orders are correct; it’s more about what you want to highlight.
Yes.
- Vocabulary: hija, cuenta, estrellas, campo, ciudad are standard everywhere.
- Grammar: se ven mejor, en el campo que en la ciudad, and the use of que for comparison are also standard.
The sentence is perfectly natural in Spain Spanish, and it would also sound normal in most Latin American varieties. Any differences would be in accent/pronunciation, not grammar or word choice.