Breakdown of Mi prima consiguió una beca el semestre pasado porque su nota media era muy alta.
Questions & Answers about Mi prima consiguió una beca el semestre pasado porque su nota media era muy alta.
Mi prima literally means my female cousin.
- mi = my (for singular nouns)
- prima = female cousin
(primo would be a male cousin)
In Spanish, you normally use a possessive (mi, tu, su, etc.) for family members instead of an article:
- mi madre = my mother
- mi hermano = my brother
- mi prima = my cousin (female)
Using la prima would mean the cousin, not my cousin.
Consiguió is the 3rd person singular of conseguir in the preterite (simple past):
- conseguir → to get / obtain
- ella consiguió → she got / obtained
The preterite is used for completed actions at a specific time in the past. Here, getting the scholarship is a one-time, finished event: last semester.
Other forms would change the meaning:
- conseguía (imperfect): she used to get / she was getting – more habitual or ongoing.
- ha conseguido (present perfect): she has got / has obtained – connects more to the present.
So consiguió fits best for a single finished action in a finished time period (last semester).
Conseguir is slightly irregular in the preterite.
Infinitive: conseguir
Stem: consegu-
Preterite endings for -ir verbs (3rd person singular): -ió
But there are two changes:
A spelling change: gu → g before o
- consegu
- ió → consiguió
(this is similar to seguir → siguió)
- ió → consiguió
- consegu
A vowel change in the stem (e → i) in 3rd person:
- conseguir → consiguió
The accent on -ió (the ó) is regular: many 3rd person preterite forms of -er/-ir verbs have an accent there: comió, vivió, consiguió, etc.
All are possible, but with slightly different nuances:
consiguió una beca – she managed to get a scholarship
(neutral, often implies some effort/process)obtuvo una beca – she obtained a scholarship
(a bit more formal, similar to English obtained)recibió una beca – she received a scholarship
(focus on the fact that someone gave it to her)ganó una beca – she won a scholarship
(emphasizes competition, like winning a prize)
In everyday European Spanish, consiguió una beca and le dieron una beca (they gave her a scholarship) are very common.
Beca is a feminine noun: la beca, una beca.
In Spain, una beca usually means a scholarship / grant related to studies, such as:
- money to pay tuition or fees
- money for living expenses while studying
- sometimes funding for research or study abroad
So consiguió una beca ≈ she got a scholarship/grant.
You use una because:
- beca is singular
- beca is feminine
→ una beca (not un beca).
In Spanish, when you talk about a specific time period in the past, you generally include the definite article:
- el año pasado – last year
- el mes pasado – last month
- la semana pasada – last week
- el semestre pasado – last semester
So el is natural and standard here.
Without el (semestre pasado) sounds incomplete or off in this context.
You can say:
- Mi prima consiguió una beca en el semestre pasado.
It’s grammatically correct but less idiomatic for this type of time expression.
For expressions like ayer, anoche, el año pasado, el verano pasado, Spanish usually does not use a preposition:
- Viajé el verano pasado. (not usually en el verano pasado)
- La vi ayer. (not en ayer)
So el semestre pasado without en sounds more natural.
- porque (one word, no accent) = because
- por qué (two words, accent on qué) = why
You use:
porque in answers and explanations:
- No fui porque estaba cansado. – I didn’t go because I was tired.
por qué in direct or indirect questions:
- ¿Por qué no fuiste? – Why didn’t you go?
- No sé por qué no fuiste. – I don’t know why you didn’t go.
In the sentence, we’re giving a reason (because her average was high), so we must use porque.
Yes, su is ambiguous in Spanish:
- su can mean his / her / its / their / your (formal, singular/plural).
Here, context tells us it’s her (your cousin is female).
To be explicit, you can say:
- la nota media de ella – her (own) average grade
- la nota media de mi prima – my cousin’s average grade
But in normal conversation, su nota media is very natural, and context usually removes ambiguity.
Yes, nota media is basically grade point average or average mark.
- nota = grade/mark in a subject
- media = average (as an adjective)
su nota media = her average grade, i.e. the numerical average of her marks.
In Spain, marks are often on a 0–10 scale, so:
- nota media de 9,2 = an average of 9.2 (very high)
In Spanish, adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.
- nota is feminine singular → la nota
- The adjective medio/media has to match that:
- nota media (feminine singular)
- precio medio (masculine singular: average price)
- notas medias (feminine plural: average grades)
So it must be nota media, not nota medio.
Era is the imperfect of ser, used for ongoing states, descriptions, and background information in the past.
Her average grade was a state that lasted during that semester, and it forms the background reason for the one-time event (getting the scholarship).
So:
- consiguió una beca – one completed event (preterite)
- su nota media era muy alta – a continuous situation in that period (imperfect), explaining why she got it.
If you said fue muy alta, it would sound more like a single, completed fact, and less like a general background condition; era is more natural here.
Yes, you could say:
- su nota media era altísima
Differences:
- muy alta – very high
(normal, strong emphasis, but neutral in tone) - altísima – extremely high / super high
(absolute superlative; sounds more emphatic, a bit more expressive)
Both are correct; muy alta is more neutral, altísima adds more intensity or enthusiasm.