Su móvil tiene una pantalla táctil enorme, pero la conexión wifi no siempre es estable.

Her phone has a huge touchscreen, but the Wi‑Fi connection is not always stable.

Breakdown of Su móvil tiene una pantalla táctil enorme, pero la conexión wifi no siempre es estable.

• tener: to have
• ser: to be
• una: a
• siempre: always
• pero: but
• su: her
• el móvil: the mobile phone
• la pantalla: the screen
• .: period
• no: not
• ,: comma
• enorme: huge
• el wifi: the Wi‑Fi
• la conexión: the connection
• táctil: touch-sensitive
• estable: stable

Questions & Answers about Su móvil tiene una pantalla táctil enorme, pero la conexión wifi no siempre es estable.

What does su mean here, and why is it su and not tu?

Su is a possessive adjective that can mean his, her, its, your (formal), or their.
In this sentence, Su móvil could be:

• his phone
• her phone
• your phone (formal, talking to usted)
• their phone

Spanish often relies on context to know which one is meant.

Tu móvil specifically means your phone when speaking informally to one person (tú). The sentence uses su, so it sounds either more formal (addressing usted) or it’s talking about a third person (his/her/their phone).

Why is it móvil and not celular or teléfono?

In Spain:

• móvil (short for teléfono móvil) is the most common everyday word for mobile phone / cell phone.
• teléfono is more general and can mean any telephone (landline or mobile), though teléfono móvil is also correct.
• celular is widely used in Latin America, but in Spain it sounds Latin American, not peninsular.

So in Spanish from Spain, móvil is the natural, colloquial choice: Su móvil = His/Her/Your mobile (phone).

Why is it una pantalla táctil enorme and not una enorme pantalla táctil like in English (a huge touch screen)?

In Spanish, adjectives normally come after the noun:

• pantalla táctil = touch screen (literally screen tactile)
• pantalla táctil enorme = a huge touch screen

You can put some adjectives before the noun, but that usually adds emphasis or changes nuance. For example:

• una enorme pantalla táctil is possible, and would put extra emphasis on how huge it is, sounding a bit more expressive or literary.

The neutral, most typical order is: noun + adjective(s) → pantalla táctil enorme.

Why does táctil stay the same and not change for feminine (pantalla táctila or something)?

Adjectives that end in -l (and many that end in -il) usually have one form for masculine and feminine:

• un móvil táctil (masculine)
• una pantalla táctil (feminine)

The adjective doesn’t change with gender, only with number:

• singular: táctil
• plural: táctiles
  
  • pantallas táctiles
  • móviles táctiles

So táctil is correct for pantalla (feminine); there is no form like táctila.

Why is it una pantalla (feminine) and la conexión (feminine)? How do I know the gender?

In Spanish, every noun has a grammatical gender that you normally must memorise:

• la pantalla (screen) → always feminine
  
  • una pantalla, la pantalla, esta pantalla
• la conexión (connection) → always feminine
  
  • una conexión, la conexión, esta conexión

There isn’t a rule you can apply perfectly here; you just learn that pantalla and conexión are feminine nouns and use la/una with them.

Does wifi have a gender? Why is it la conexión wifi and not el wifi?

In this sentence, wifi is acting like a modifier of conexión:

• la conexión wifi = the wifi connection

So the gender comes from conexión, which is feminine (la).

Independently, the word wifi (also written wífi) is usually treated as masculine in modern dictionaries:

• el wifi / el wífi = the wifi
• No tengo wifi en casa.

Both are correct:

• la conexión wifi (feminine because of conexión)
• el wifi (masculine, as a standalone noun)

Why is it no siempre es estable and not es no siempre estable or siempre no es estable?

The standard word order with negation and adverbs like siempre is:

• no + adverb + verb + adjective
  → no siempre es estable = it is not always stable

Some important points:

• es no siempre estable is ungrammatical in normal Spanish.
• siempre no es estable is also incorrect; if you mean never, you say:
  • nunca es estable = it is never stable.

no siempre es estable literally means it isn’t always stable (sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t).

Why is it no siempre es estable with es and not no siempre está estable with está?

Both ser and estar can be used with adjectives, but they give different nuances:

• ser estable = to be inherently / generally stable (a characteristic)
• estar estable = to be stable at the moment / in a particular situation (a state)

In the sentence:

• la conexión wifi no siempre es estable
  → expresses that as a general quality, the wifi connection isn’t reliable.

You could say no siempre está estable if you want to stress the temporary state right now or recently, but for a habitual problem, ser (es estable) is more natural.

Why is pero used here instead of sino or aunque?

The three words are not interchangeable:

1. pero = but, introduces a contrast without correcting a negation.

   • Su móvil tiene una pantalla táctil enorme, pero la conexión wifi no siempre es estable.
     → positive fact vs. contrasting problem.

2. sino = but rather / but instead, and needs a negation before it:

   • No tiene una pantalla táctil, sino botones.
     (It doesn’t have a touchscreen, but rather buttons.)
     This doesn’t fit our sentence because the first part is not negative.

3. aunque = although / even though, introduces a concession:

   • Su móvil tiene una pantalla táctil enorme, aunque la conexión wifi no siempre es estable.
     → also possible, but the nuance changes: it sounds more like “even though the wifi isn’t always stable” instead of a simple “but” contrast.

For a straightforward but, pero is the correct choice.

Is the comma before pero necessary in Spanish?

A comma before pero is very common and normally recommended when it links two full clauses:

• Su móvil tiene una pantalla táctil enorme, pero la conexión wifi no siempre es estable.

You might see it without a comma in short phrases:

• Es caro pero bueno.

But in your sentence, the comma is standard and correct; most style guides in Spanish would keep it.

Could I say una pantalla enorme táctil instead of una pantalla táctil enorme?

You can say una pantalla enorme táctil, but it sounds unusual and a bit awkward. Native speakers overwhelmingly prefer:

• una pantalla táctil enorme

General tendencies with multiple adjectives:

• Keep them after the noun.
• Use an order that feels natural in Spanish: more “type / function” (e.g. táctil) usually comes closer to the noun, and more descriptive/size adjectives (e.g. enorme) go later.

So:

• pantalla táctil enorme (natural)
• pantalla enorme táctil (technically possible, but odd)

Is there any difference in meaning between una pantalla táctil enorme and una pantalla táctil muy grande?

Both mean a very big touch screen, but with a slight nuance:

• enorme = huge, enormous; a single, strong adjective.
• muy grande = very big; literally very + big.

In everyday speech:

• enorme feels a bit more emphatic by itself.
• muy grande is more neutral and very common.

In this sentence, enorme is perfectly idiomatic; muy grande would also be correct:

• Su móvil tiene una pantalla táctil enorme.
• Su móvil tiene una pantalla táctil muy grande.