Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): En este punto del texto, entiendo mejor la idea. - At this point in the text, I understand the idea better.

A is more for movement or direction (to / towards):
Voy a este punto del texto would sound strange, because you’re not going towards a point, you’re located at it. So en is the natural preposition here.

What exactly does punto mean here? Is it a literal “dot/point” or more like “stage”?

Here punto means something like stage / point in an argument or explanation, not a physical dot.

It’s common in Spanish to talk about the development of an idea or text with punto:

En este punto del capítulo, el autor cambia de tema.
En este punto de la explicación, ya todo es más claro.

So in En este punto del texto, punto = this stage or moment in how the text is progressing.

Why do we say del texto and not de el texto or en el texto?

Del is just the contraction of de + el. In Spanish, de el almost always contracts to del:

de + el texto → del texto
de + el libro → del libro

You only keep de el separate in very rare, special cases (like emphasis or poetry), so here it must be del texto, not de el texto.

As for de vs en:

En este punto del texto literally: At this point *of the text* (i.e. a specific point that belongs to/occurs in the text).
En este punto en el texto is understandable but less natural; Spanish usually uses de to link “point” and the thing it belongs to.

Could I say en este momento del texto instead of en este punto del texto?

You can say en este momento del texto, and it’s grammatically fine. The nuance:

punto focuses on a stage in the structure or argument.
momento focuses more on time or sequence.

In practice, for talking about where you are in a written text, punto is more idiomatic and sounds very natural. Momento is less common here but not wrong.

Why is the word order entiendo mejor la idea? Can I also say entiendo la idea mejor or mejor entiendo la idea?

All three are possible, but the most neutral and common is:

entiendo mejor la idea

Adverbs like mejor often go before the direct object:

entiendo mejor la explicación
leo más rápido el texto

You can say entiendo la idea mejor; it’s still correct, just slightly less usual in everyday speech.

Mejor entiendo la idea is possible, but it sounds more marked/emphatic, like:

Ahora, mejor entiendo la idea (emphasis on the improvement).

For a simple, neutral statement, entiendo mejor la idea is the best choice.

Could I say comprendo mejor la idea instead of entiendo mejor la idea? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say comprendo mejor la idea; it’s correct and means the same in this context.

Nuance:

entender is more frequent in everyday speech in Spain.
comprender can sound a bit more formal or “intellectual”, but it’s also very common.

In most situations, they’re interchangeable:

No entiendo / no comprendo la idea. – I don’t understand the idea.

Here, both work. If you want the most natural, casual-sounding option in Spain, entiendo is slightly more common.

What verb is entiendo from, and why does it change the vowel?

Entiendo is the yo (1st person singular) form of entender in the present tense.

Entender is a stem‑changing verb: e → ie in stressed syllables.

Present tense forms:

yo entiendo
tú entiendes
él / ella / usted entiende
nosotros / nosotras entendemos (no change)
vosotros / vosotras entendéis (no change)
ellos / ellas / ustedes entienden

So the vowel changes from e to ie in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.

Why is it entiendo and not something like estoy entendiendo or voy entendiendo?

Spanish uses the simple present much more than English to talk about what is happening now.

Entiendo mejor la idea naturally covers “I understand the idea better (now)”.

You’d use estoy entendiendo mainly to stress the ongoing process of understanding, often with a bit of surprise or change:

Ahora estoy entendiendo la idea. – Now I’m (finally) starting to understand the idea.

Voy entendiendo emphasises gradual progress:

Voy entendiendo mejor la idea. – I’m gradually understanding the idea better and better.

In your neutral sentence, the simple present entiendo is exactly what Spanish normally uses.

Why is it este punto but la idea, not esta idea?

Both choices are about how specific you’re being:

este punto del texto: you are clearly pointing to this exact point in the text (this sentence, this paragraph, this stage).
la idea: you are referring to the idea that has been mentioned/discussed, so the normal definite article la is enough.

You could say esta idea:

…entiendo mejor esta idea.

That would add a bit of extra emphasis, like “this particular idea (as opposed to others).” Without needing that contrast, la idea is the default choice.

Why is idea feminine (la idea) even though it ends in -a and comes from a Greek word?

In Spanish, idea is grammatically feminine: la idea, una buena idea, esta idea.

There’s no trick here: many nouns ending in -a are feminine, and idea is one of them, even though it comes from Ancient Greek. There’s nothing irregular about it in modern Spanish; you just learn idea → feminine.

Examples:

La idea es interesante.
Esa idea me gusta.

So la idea in your sentence is just standard gender agreement.

Could I drop del texto and just say En este punto, entiendo mejor la idea?

Yes. The sentence:

En este punto, entiendo mejor la idea.

is completely correct and natural. Whether you need del texto depends on context:

If it’s already clear you’re talking about a text (you’re in a reading lesson, or already mentioned the text), you can omit del texto.
If you want to be explicit that you mean a written text (not, say, a conversation), del texto makes that clear.

So the full version is slightly more specific; the shorter one is often fine and a bit more fluid.

Why is there a comma after texto? Is it required?

En este punto del texto is an introductory phrase that sets the context (it tells you when/where the main statement applies).

In Spanish, it’s very common to separate such initial phrases with a comma:

En este punto del texto, entiendo mejor la idea.
Al principio del capítulo, no entiendo nada.

Is it strictly required? Not always; some short, simple introductory phrases can appear without a comma. But here, the comma is recommended because it clearly separates the setting (en este punto del texto) from the main statement (entiendo mejor la idea) and matches the natural pause in speech.

Is there a way to emphasise that now I finally understand better, like English “now I really understand the idea better”?

A natural way in Spanish is to add ya or ahora:

En este punto del texto, ya entiendo mejor la idea.
En este punto del texto, ahora entiendo mejor la idea.

Nuance:

ya often implies a change: “by this point / now (as opposed to before)”.
ahora is more neutral: just “now”.

Both are very common and sound natural in Peninsular Spanish.