Breakdown of Mi padre dice que no es que la filosofía sea inútil, es que la biología le parece más práctica.
Questions & Answers about Mi padre dice que no es que la filosofía sea inútil, es que la biología le parece más práctica.
The structure no es que + subjunctive is a special pattern in Spanish used to:
- Deny or downplay an explanation, and
- Introduce a more accurate explanation afterwards.
So:
La filosofía no es inútil.
= A straightforward statement: Philosophy is not useless.No es que la filosofía sea inútil, es que la biología le parece más práctica.
= It’s not that philosophy is useless; it’s that biology seems more practical to him.
The no es que… part suggests “that’s not really the issue / that’s not exactly the reason,” and prepares the listener for the real reason in the second part of the sentence.
Because this is the subjunctive after the fixed expression no es que….
- After no es que, Spanish normally uses the subjunctive to talk about a situation that is:
- being rejected as the true cause, or
- presented as hypothetical / not asserted as plain fact.
So:
Es que la filosofía es inútil. (indicative: es)
= The issue is that philosophy is useless. (speaker presents it as fact)No es que la filosofía sea inútil. (subjunctive: sea)
= It’s not that philosophy is useless. (the speaker rejects this as the real explanation)
Replacing sea with es here would sound ungrammatical to a native speaker in this structure.
No. In standard Spanish this sounds wrong.
- After no es que, you should use the subjunctive:
- no es que la filosofía sea inútil ✅
Using the indicative (es) breaks the pattern and will sound incorrect or at least very jarring to native speakers.
That que is a conjunction meaning that, introducing what your father says.
- Mi padre dice que…
= My father says that…
It’s similar to English that in:
- My father says that philosophy isn’t useless…
In Spanish, this que is almost always used in reported speech:
- Dice que viene mañana. = He says (that) he’s coming tomorrow.
- Me han dicho que es caro. = They’ve told me (that) it’s expensive.
The repetition creates the pattern no es que X, es que Y:
- No es que la filosofía sea inútil
= It’s not that philosophy is useless (denying explanation X) - es que la biología le parece más práctica
= it’s that biology seems more practical to him (giving the real explanation Y)
This is a very natural way in Spanish to say:
“It’s not so much X; the real reason is Y.”
You could, more formally, also say:
- No es que la filosofía sea inútil, sino que la biología le parece más práctica.
Here sino que explicitly marks the contrast, but no es que…, es que… is very common in everyday speech.
Le is an indirect object pronoun meaning to him (here: to my father).
- La biología le parece más práctica.
Literally: Biology seems more practical to him.
Breakdown:
- la biología = the subject (biology)
- le = to him (referring back to mi padre)
- parece = seems / appears
- más práctica = more practical
Compare:
- La película le parece aburrida. = The film seems boring to him/her.
- A mi padre la biología le parece más práctica. = To my father, biology seems more practical.
La biología es más práctica.
= Biology is more practical.
Sounds like an objective statement or general fact.La biología le parece más práctica.
= Biology seems more practical to him.
Clearly marks this as his opinion/perception, not a universal truth.
Using parecer is similar to English seem / appear, and it makes the sentence more subjective and less absolute, which matches the context (we’re talking about your father’s personal view).
Because adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.
- la biología is feminine singular (la)
- So the adjective must also be feminine singular: práctica
Examples:
- la asignatura es práctica (fem. sg.)
- el curso es práctico (masc. sg.)
- las clases son prácticas (fem. pl.)
- los métodos son prácticos (masc. pl.)
Here:
- la biología le parece más práctica ✅
práctica agrees with la biología.
Because inútil is an adjective that has one form for both masculine and feminine.
In Spanish, many adjectives ending in -e or -l (and some others) do not change with gender:
- un libro inútil / una idea inútil
- un chico inteligente / una chica inteligente
- un problema difícil / una tarea difícil
They do change for number:
- un libro inútil / unos libros inútiles
- una idea inútil / unas ideas inútiles
So la filosofía es inútil is already correct; we don’t need inútila (which does not exist).
Yes, that’s perfectly correct and quite natural:
- No es que la filosofía sea inútil, sino que la biología le parece más práctica.
This means:
- It’s not that philosophy is useless, but rather that biology seems more practical to him.
Differences in feel:
- no es que…, es que…
Very common in spoken language; a bit more informal and conversational. - no es que…, sino que…
Slightly more explicit and “correct-sounding”, also good in writing.
Both are fine in Spain; neither is dialect-specific.
You have some flexibility, but not all orders sound equally natural.
Most natural here:
- La biología le parece más práctica. ✅
Also possible, with a slightly different emphasis:
- A mi padre, la biología le parece más práctica. (emphasizes to my father)
- A mi padre le parece más práctica la biología. (emphasis on biology compared to other subjects)
Less common or odd in isolation:
- Le parece la biología más práctica.
Possible, but sounds marked / literary / unusual in everyday speech.
In standard spoken Spanish (Spain), the original order is the safest and most natural.
Grammatically and lexically, this sentence works everywhere in the Spanish‑speaking world. A Latin American speaker would also say:
- Mi padre dice que no es que la filosofía sea inútil, es que la biología le parece más práctica.
Minor differences:
- Intonation and rhythm may vary by region.
- In some regions people might simply not use this structure as often in casual speech and might prefer something simpler like:
- Para mi padre, la biología es más práctica que la filosofía.
But there is nothing specifically “Spain-only” about the vocabulary or grammar here.