Breakdown of La habitación de mi prima es caótica, pero ella dice que entiende perfectamente su propio orden.
Questions & Answers about La habitación de mi prima es caótica, pero ella dice que entiende perfectamente su propio orden.
Spanish does not use the apostrophe-s structure for possession. Instead, it uses de:
- la habitación de mi prima = my cousin’s room
Literally: the room of my cousin
General pattern:
- el coche de mi hermano = my brother’s car
- la casa de mis padres = my parents’ house
You cannot say la habitación mi prima to mean my cousin’s room; the de is required to show that the room belongs to your cousin.
Habitación is grammatically feminine, so it takes la:
- la habitación = the room
You just have to memorize the gender of nouns; it doesn’t always follow a clear rule, though many nouns ending in -ción are feminine:
la estación, la canción, la situación, la habitación, etc.
Other common ways to say room:
- el cuarto – very common, more informal in many areas
- El cuarto de mi prima es caótico.
- la habitación – a bit more formal, often used in hotels, written language
- Hemos reservado una habitación en el hotel.
In Spain both habitación and cuarto are understood, but habitación is especially common in more formal or neutral contexts.
Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.
- la habitación → feminine singular
- So the adjective must also be feminine singular: caótica.
Compare:
- El salón es caótico. (masculine singular: el salón → caótico)
- Las habitaciones son caóticas. (feminine plural: las habitaciones → caóticas)
Here, caótica is describing habitación, not prima, so it agrees with habitación.
Both es caótica and está caótica are possible, but they give slightly different nuances:
- es caótica (with ser) suggests a more permanent or characteristic quality:
Her room is (by nature) chaotic; that’s just how it is, habitually. - está caótica (with estar) would sound more temporary:
Her room is chaotic right now (maybe because of exams, packing, etc.).
In the given sentence, es caótica fits because it sounds like a general description of how her room usually is.
There is a comma before pero because it introduces a contrast between two clauses:
- La habitación de mi prima es caótica, pero ella dice que…
Pero = but, used for general contrast or opposition.
Sino = but rather / but instead, used to correct or replace a previous negative idea.
Examples:
- No es ordenada, sino caótica.
It’s not tidy, but rather chaotic. (correction after a negative)
In the original sentence there’s no such correction after a negative phrase, just a contrast:
- Her room is chaotic, but she says she understands…
So pero is the correct conjunction, not sino.
Yes, you can say either:
- …pero ella dice que…
- …pero dice que…
Spanish is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella, etc.) can be omitted because the verb ending usually shows who the subject is.
Using ella:
- Emphasizes that she (not someone else) says this.
- Can help avoid ambiguity if several people are being talked about.
Without ella:
- Sounds more neutral and slightly more natural if the subject is already clear from context.
Both are grammatically correct; it’s often a stylistic choice.
In Spanish, reported speech usually uses decir + que + clause:
- Ella dice que entiende perfectamente…
She says (that) she understands perfectly…
Structure:
- decir que + [a whole sentence]
- dice que entiende perfectamente su propio orden
- dijo que vendría mañana
- dicen que no tienen tiempo
You cannot drop que in standard Spanish the way English often drops that.
✗ Ella dice entiende… is incorrect; it must be Ella dice que entiende…
The subject is already clear from the previous verb ella dice, so Spanish omits it in the second clause:
- Ella dice que entiende perfectamente…
Inside the que-clause, the default interpretation is that the subject is the same as before (ella). The verb ending -e in entiende also indicates él/ella/usted.
You can say ella dice que ella entiende perfectamente, but that usually sounds redundant unless you really want to emphasize she (and not someone else) understands.
Perfectamente is an adverb, and it modifies the verb entiende:
- entiende perfectamente = she understands perfectly
Adjectives (perfecta, perfecto) describe nouns:
- una explicación perfecta = a perfect explanation
Adverbs in -mente are formed from the feminine form of an adjective:
- perfecta → perfectamente (perfect → perfectly)
- clara → claramente (clear → clearly)
Typical positions for perfectamente:
- Ella entiende perfectamente su propio orden. (very natural)
- Ella entiende su propio orden perfectamente. (also correct)
Both are fine; the first is slightly more common and direct.
Su propio orden literally means her own order, i.e. her own way of organizing things.
Breakdown:
- su = her (or his/their/your, depending on context)
- propio = own
- orden = order / organization / arrangement
Word order:
- In Spanish, propio usually comes after the possessive:
- mi propio coche = my own car
- tu propia habitación = your own room
- su propio orden = her own order
Agreement:
- propio agrees with the noun:
- su propio orden (masculine singular: orden)
- su propia habitación (feminine singular: habitación)
- sus propios libros (masculine plural: libros)
Su orden = her order (neutral).
Su propio orden = her own particular system, emphasizing that it’s personal or unique to her.
Yes. Su is ambiguous in Spanish:
- su can mean his / her / its / your (usted) / their.
In this sentence, context makes it clear it refers to mi prima (my female cousin), so su propio orden = her own order.
To avoid ambiguity in other contexts, Spanish often replaces su with de + pronoun or de + noun:
- el orden de ella = her order
- el orden de mi prima = my cousin’s order
- el orden de ellos = their order
- el orden de usted = your order (formal you)
So you could say:
- …pero mi prima dice que entiende perfectamente su propio orden.
Now su clearly points to mi prima. - Or more explicit but less natural here:
…que entiende perfectamente su propio orden, el de ella.
In Spanish, you do not combine a possessive determiner with a definite article before the same noun. It’s either:
- el orden = the order
- su orden = her order
but not:
- ✗ su el orden
- ✗ su propio el orden
So the correct phrase is:
- su propio orden
Similarly:
- mi casa (my house), not ✗la mi casa
- nuestro coche (our car), not ✗el nuestro coche
In this sentence, orden is masculine:
- (el) orden = order, arrangement, organization
- su propio orden = her own way of organizing things
Orden is one of the nouns in Spanish whose gender can change with the meaning:
- el orden (masculine): order, organization, sequence
- Me gusta el orden en esta oficina.
- la orden (feminine): order, command, religious order
- El jefe dio la orden de empezar. (command)
- Ella pertenece a una orden religiosa. (religious order)
In su propio orden, we are clearly talking about organization, so it’s masculine (el orden).
Yes, you could say:
- La habitación de mi prima es caótica, aunque ella dice que entiende perfectamente su propio orden.
Both pero and aunque express contrast, but they feel slightly different:
- pero = but, more like simply adding a contrasting statement.
- aunque = although / even though, more like introducing something that is surprising or concessive.
Subtle nuance:
- …es caótica, pero ella dice…
Statement + contrasting fact. - …es caótica, aunque ella dice…
Emphasizes the surprising coexistence of the two ideas: it’s chaotic, yet she says she understands it.
Both are grammatically correct; the original with pero is the most straightforward.