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Mi vecina es muy amable con mi familia.

Mi vecina es muy amable con mi familia.
My neighbor is very kind to my family.
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Questions & Answers about Mi vecina es muy amable con mi familia.

Why is it vecina and not vecino?

Spanish nouns that refer to people usually have a masculine and a feminine form:

  • vecino = male neighbor
  • vecina = female neighbor

In Mi vecina es muy amable con mi familia, the speaker is talking about a female neighbor, so vecina (feminine) is used.

If you were talking about a male neighbor, you’d say:

  • Mi vecino es muy amable con mi familia.
How would I say my neighbors in Spanish?

For neighbors in the plural:

  • mis vecinos = my neighbors (all male or mixed group)
  • mis vecinas = my (all) female neighbors

Examples:

  • Mis vecinos son muy amables. – My neighbors are very kind.
  • Mis vecinas son muy amables. – My (female) neighbors are very kind.
Why is it mi familia and not mis familia?

Mi / mis must agree in number with the noun:

  • mi = my (singular noun)
  • mis = my (plural noun)

familia is grammatically singular in Spanish, even though it refers to several people. So you use mi:

  • mi familia – my family
  • mis familias – my families (rare, but possible in special contexts)

So in this sentence, mi familia is correct.

Does amable change for masculine/feminine or singular/plural?

Amable is one of the adjectives that have:

  • the same form for masculine and feminine:

    • un vecino amable – a kind (male) neighbor
    • una vecina amable – a kind (female) neighbor

  • but it changes for number (singular/plural):

    • vecino amable / vecina amable – kind neighbor
    • vecinos amables / vecinas amables – kind neighbors

So only the plural adds -s: amables.

Why is it es (from ser) and not está (from estar)?

Ser is used for more permanent or defining characteristics; estar is for temporary states or conditions.

Being a kind person is seen as a more permanent trait, so Spanish uses ser:

  • Mi vecina es muy amable… – She’s (a) very kind (person)…

If you used estar (which would sound unusual here), it would suggest she’s being kind only at this moment or unusually:

  • Mi vecina está muy amable hoy. – My neighbor is being very nice today. (implies it’s a bit out of the ordinary / temporary)

In your original sentence, es is the natural choice.

Could I say muy simpática instead of muy amable? What’s the difference?

Both are positive, but there’s a nuance:

  • amable: kind, considerate, helpful, polite. More about how the person treats others.
  • simpático / simpática: nice, likeable, pleasant, friendly. More about how pleasant they are as a person.

In Spain:

  • Mi vecina es muy amable con mi familia.
    Emphasizes she is kind and considerate toward your family (helps, is polite, etc.).

  • Mi vecina es muy simpática.
    Emphasizes she is nice / warm / pleasant to be around in general.

You can combine them:

  • Mi vecina es muy amable y muy simpática.
Why is it amable con mi familia and not amable a mi familia?

With adjectives like amable, Spanish usually uses the preposition con to indicate who receives the kindness:

  • amable con alguien – kind to someone
  • simpático con alguien – nice to someone
  • paciente con alguien – patient with someone

So:

  • Mi vecina es muy amable con mi familia. – She is very kind to my family.

Using a (amable a mi familia) is not natural here in standard Spanish. Con is the fixed, idiomatic choice.

Can I change the word order to Mi vecina es con mi familia muy amable?

That word order is not natural in Spanish. The usual pattern is:

subject + verb + adjective + complements

So:

  • Mi vecina es muy amable con mi familia. ✅ (natural)

Putting con mi familia in the middle like this:

  • Mi vecina es con mi familia muy amable. ❌

sounds awkward and marked. You could slightly reorder for emphasis, but you’d normally keep:

  • Mi vecina es muy amable con mi familia.
How do I say My neighbor is very kind to me instead of to my family?

You use a special form after con:

  • conmigo = with me / to me
  • contigo = with you (informal singular)
  • con él / con ella = with him / her

So:

  • Mi vecina es muy amable conmigo. – My neighbor is very kind to me.
How would I say our neighbor or their neighbor?

Possessive adjectives must agree in gender and number with vecino / vecina:

  • nuestro vecino – our (male) neighbor
  • nuestra vecina – our (female) neighbor
  • nuestros vecinos – our neighbors (m. / mixed)
  • nuestras vecinas – our (female) neighbors

For their neighbor (and also your formal/plural):

  • su vecino – their (male) neighbor
  • su vecina – their (female) neighbor
  • sus vecinos / sus vecinas – their neighbors

Example:

  • Nuestra vecina es muy amable con mi familia. – Our (female) neighbor is very kind to my family.
Can I drop mi and just say La vecina es muy amable con mi familia?

You can, but it changes the meaning slightly:

  • Mi vecina es muy amable…
    = my neighbor; clearly yours.

  • La vecina es muy amable…
    = the neighbor; a specific neighbor you and the listener already know about (for example, “the neighbor upstairs”).

So La vecina es muy amable con mi familia is correct Spanish, but it doesn’t clearly say she is your neighbor; it assumes shared context.

Why is familia singular in Spanish when it means several people?

In Spanish, la familia is a collective noun: grammatically singular, but referring to a group.

So you say:

  • mi familia es… (not mi familia son in standard Spanish)
  • Mi familia es muy grande. – My family is very big.

In your sentence:

  • …con mi familia
    is natural and correct because familia is treated as one unit grammatically.
Is vecina only for someone who lives next door, or also for people in the same building?

In Spain, vecino / vecina is used broadly:

  • someone next door
  • someone in your building
  • someone living on your street or very close by
  • more generally, an inhabitant of the same town/area (in some contexts)

So mi vecina could be the woman in the same building (for example, the one in the apartment above you), not only literally “next door.”