Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): La deuda pequeña no me preocupa tanto como el ruido constante en la ciudad. - The small debt does not worry me as much as the constant noise in the city.

But you cannot say preocupa me in standard Spanish; the clitic pronoun me must go before the conjugated verb (except in some special constructions like infinitives or gerunds: preocuparme, preocupándome).

Why do we need no before me preocupa? Is this a double negative?

It’s just a normal negation, not a double negative.

In Spanish, no always goes directly before the conjugated verb.
With pronouns, the order is:

no + pronoun(s) + verb

So:

Me preocupa la deuda. = The debt worries me.
No me preocupa la deuda. = The debt doesn’t worry me.

You can’t say me no preocupa or omit no if you want to say does not.

How exactly does tanto como work here? What is being compared?

The structure is:

La deuda pequeña no me preocupa tanto como el ruido constante.

You can think of it as:

La deuda pequeña no me preocupa tanto como (me preocupa) el ruido constante.

So:

tanto = “as much”
como = “as”

They form a comparative of equality/amount: “as much as.”

If you remove no, the meaning changes:

La deuda pequeña me preocupa tanto como el ruido constante.
= The small debt worries me as much as the constant noise (they worry me equally).

With no, you’re saying:

The small debt worries me, but less than the constant noise.

Spanish often drops the repeated verb in the second part of the comparison; it’s understood from context.

Could I say La pequeña deuda instead of La deuda pequeña? Is there a difference?

Both are grammatically correct, but the nuance changes slightly:

La deuda pequeña (adjective after the noun)
- More neutral, descriptive: a debt that is small in amount/size.
- Just adds factual information.
La pequeña deuda (adjective before the noun)
- Often sounds a bit more subjective or evaluative, like that little debt, that small, not-so-important debt.
- Can suggest it’s relatively unimportant or minor in your opinion.

In everyday speech, both would usually be understood as “the small debt,” but:

La deuda pequeña = descriptive.
La pequeña deuda = slightly more expressive / attitudinal.

Why is it la deuda pequeña and el ruido constante? Could I use una deuda or un ruido instead?

The definite articles la and el point to specific, identifiable things:

La deuda pequeña = the small debt (a particular one we know about)
El ruido constante = the constant noise (the one we experience in the city)

Alternatives:

Una deuda pequeña no me preocupa tanto…
= A small debt doesn’t worry me so much… (introduces the idea more generally)
Un ruido constante en la ciudad
sounds like “a constant noise in the city,” less clearly “the general constant noise of city life.”

So:

la / el = specific, known, or “the usual” one
una / un = non‑specific, one of several possible

Why is pequeña after deuda, but constante is after ruido too? Could I say el constante ruido?

Yes, you can say:

el constante ruido en la ciudad

In Spanish, most adjectives normally go after the noun:

la deuda pequeña
el ruido constante

Putting an adjective before the noun is also possible, but it often gives it a more literary, emphatic, or subjective feel:

el constante ruido
= slightly more expressive, highlighting “constant” as an important, almost inherent quality of the noise.

So:

ruido constante = neutral description.
constante ruido = stylistically marked, a bit more dramatic or poetic.

Why is it en la ciudad? Could I say el ruido de la ciudad instead?

Both are correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

el ruido constante en la ciudad
- Focuses on the noise that exists in the city, as a place where there is constant noise.
el ruido constante de la ciudad
- Focuses on the city’s noise, as something that belongs to or comes from the city.

In practice, both are natural:

No me preocupa tanto la deuda pequeña como el ruido constante en la ciudad.
No me preocupa tanto la deuda pequeña como el ruido constante de la ciudad.

Speakers of Spain use both; choice depends on style and what you want to emphasize (place vs. source/association).

Is the word order La deuda pequeña no me preocupa tanto como el ruido constante… the only option? Can I move things around?

Spanish allows some flexibility. These are all possible, with slightly different emphasis:

La deuda pequeña no me preocupa tanto como el ruido constante en la ciudad.
- Fronts la deuda pequeña as the topic (“As for the small debt…”).
No me preocupa tanto la deuda pequeña como el ruido constante en la ciudad.
- More common in speech; emphasis is on no me preocupa tanto….
No me preocupa la deuda pequeña tanto como el ruido constante en la ciudad.
- Also possible, but a bit heavier; the tanto is pulled later.

All are grammatically correct. The version you have (1) and version (2) are the most natural-sounding.

How does gender and agreement work here: la deuda pequeña, el ruido constante?

Agreement rules:

deuda is feminine singular → la deuda
- Adjective must match: pequeña (fem. sing.)
ruido is masculine singular → el ruido
- Adjective must match: constante (but constante has the same form for masculine and feminine; only number changes: constantes for plural)

So:

Singular: la deuda pequeña, el ruido constante
Plural: las deudas pequeñas, los ruidos constantes

Key idea: adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.

Is this sentence natural in Spain? Would a Spaniard say it this way?

Yes, it’s completely natural in Peninsular (Spain) Spanish:

La deuda pequeña no me preocupa tanto como el ruido constante en la ciudad.

A Spaniard might also very commonly say:

No me preocupa tanto la deuda pequeña como el ruido constante en la ciudad.

Vocabulary (deuda, ruido, ciudad, preocupar, tanto como) and structure are all standard in Spain. The only Spain‑specific difference you’d notice compared with Latin America is pronunciation (for example ciudad, constante, deuda) and possibly a more marked /θ/ sound for z / c before e, i.