Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Al final del semestre, espero que podamos celebrar todas las becas y los ascensos con una cena sencilla. - At the end of the semester, I hope we can celebrate all the scholarships and promotions with a simple dinner.

al final de is the set phrase for a temporal end point.
en el final del semestre is grammatically possible but sounds awkward and much less idiomatic; you almost never hear it in this time-related sense.
al fin del semestre is also possible, but:
- al fin tends to emphasize finally / at long last, often after difficulty or impatience.
- al final is more neutral: simply at the end.

So al final del semestre is the most natural, neutral choice here.

Why is there a contraction del instead of de el in del semestre?

Spanish always contracts de + el into del when el is the masculine singular article:

de el semestre → del semestre
de el coche → del coche

You must contract them when el is the article.
You do not contract when el is part of a name or not acting as an article, for example:

de El País (the newspaper’s name) – no contraction
de El Salvador – no contraction

In del semestre, el is clearly the article before semestre, so del is required.

Why is it espero que podamos and not espero que podemos?

Because espero que… (I hope that…) normally triggers the subjunctive in Spanish when you’re talking about a future, uncertain, or wished-for situation.

esperar que + subjunctive
- Espero que podamos celebrar… = I hope (that) we can celebrate…

The verb poder in the present subjunctive, 1st person plural is:

nosotros podamos

So:

Espero que podemos celebrar… ❌ – considered wrong or unnatural in standard Spanish.
Espero que podamos celebrar… ✅ – correct.

The logic: you’re not stating a fact (we can), you’re expressing a hope (I hope we’ll be able to), which calls for the subjunctive.

Could I say Espero poder celebrar… instead of Espero que podamos celebrar…?

Yes, but there’s a nuance:

Espero que podamos celebrar…
- Emphasizes “I hope that we (all) will be able to celebrate…”
- The subject of podamos is we (nosotros).
Espero poder celebrar…
- Literally: “I hope to be able to celebrate…”
- More focused on my ability or possibility, though in context it might still feel collective.

Both are grammatically correct.
If you want to stress the group (we), espero que podamos is clearer.
If you want a simpler structure or focus on your own ability, espero poder celebrar works.

Why does espero que require the subjunctive here, but English just says “I hope we can…” with a normal verb?

English and Spanish handle this differently:

In English, hope is followed by a normal (indicative) clause:
- I hope we can celebrate…
In Spanish, the verb esperar used to express a wish/hope typically requires subjunctive in the following clause:
- Espero que podamos celebrar…

General pattern:

esperar que + [subjunctive] = to hope that …
- Espero que vengas. – I hope you come.
- Espero que salga bien. – I hope it turns out well.

So you can’t copy English structure directly; you have to remember esperar que → subjunctive.

Why is it todas las becas y los ascensos instead of using just one article, like todas las becas y ascensos?

In Spanish, when you list different nouns, you normally repeat the article for each one, especially if they have different genders:

todas las becas y los ascensos
- las for becas (feminine)
- los for ascensos (masculine)

Possible patterns:

las becas y los ascensos ✅ (most natural)
las becas y ascensos ❓ – can appear in writing but sounds compressed and is less natural, especially with different genders.
If the nouns share the same gender and number, you may drop the second article more easily:
- las becas y ayudas ✅ (both feminine plural)

Here they’re different in gender, so repeating the article (las / los) is the clear, standard option.

Why is it todas las becas and not todos las becas?

Spanish requires gender and number agreement between determiners/adjectives and the noun:

beca is feminine singular → la beca
becas is feminine plural → las becas

So todas must be:

feminine plural to match: todas las becas

Forms of todo:

masculine plural: todos → for masculine or mixed groups (e.g. todos los libros)
feminine plural: todas → for feminine groups only (e.g. todas las sillas)

Since becas is feminine, todas is required; todos las becas is ungrammatical.

What exactly does becas mean in Spain?

In Spain, beca usually means:

scholarship (financial help for studying, often based on need or merit)
sometimes grant or studentship, depending on context

Examples:

Conseguí una beca para estudiar en la universidad.
I got a scholarship to study at university.
Ofrecen becas para hacer un máster en el extranjero.
They offer grants/scholarships to do a master’s degree abroad.

So in this sentence, todas las becas refers to all the scholarships or grants that people have received.

What does ascensos mean here, and in what context is it normally used?

Ascenso has a few meanings, but in this context it clearly means:

promotion at work (moving up to a higher position or rank)

Common usage:

Me han dado un ascenso. – I’ve been given a promotion.
Celebró su ascenso con sus compañeros. – He/She celebrated his/her promotion with colleagues.

Other meanings (less likely here):

ascent / climb upward (e.g., in sports or mountains)
in sports leagues, ascenso de categoría = moving up to a higher division

In the sentence, talking about becas y ascensos strongly suggests academic/working-life achievements: scholarships and job promotions.

Why is it con una cena sencilla and not something like celebrar cenando or celebrar en una cena?

All of these ideas are possible, but they’re slightly different constructions:

con una cena sencilla
- Literally: with a simple dinner
- celebrar X con Y = celebrate X with Y (using Y as the means or occasion)
- Very natural: celebrar el cumpleaños con una cena.
celebrar cenando
- Uses a gerund (by having dinner).
- Cenando focuses more on the activity of having dinner, less on the dinner as a thing or event.
- e.g. Celebramos cenando en casa.
celebrar en una cena
- Possible, but means celebrate during/at a dinner.
- Emphasizes the setting (the celebration happens at the dinner).

In this sentence, con una cena sencilla nicely presents the dinner as the simple means of celebration, which is idiomatic and clear.

What nuance does sencilla add to cena? Is it the same as saying cena simple?

Both sencilla and simple are close in meaning, but they have slightly different nuances:

cena sencilla
- Feels warm and modest: not fancy, not elaborate, straightforward.
- Often has a positive or neutral tone: unpretentious, cosy.
cena simple
- Also means simple, but can sound a bit more blunt, sometimes edging toward plain / nothing special, depending on tone.
- Still correct and natural, just a bit less “soft” in connotation.

In everyday Peninsular Spanish, cena sencilla is very common and sounds friendly and modest: a low-key, unfussy dinner.

Can I change the word order and say espero que podamos celebrar con una cena sencilla todas las becas y los ascensos?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct:

Espero que podamos celebrar con una cena sencilla todas las becas y los ascensos. ✅

However, the original:

Espero que podamos celebrar todas las becas y los ascensos con una cena sencilla.

sounds slightly more natural because:

You keep the direct objects (todas las becas y los ascensos) closer to the verb celebrar.
The prepositional phrase con una cena sencilla then clearly modifies celebrar as “how/with what we celebrate.”

Your reordered version is still understandable and acceptable; it just shifts a tiny bit of emphasis onto “with a simple dinner” before naming what exactly is being celebrated.