Breakdown of La compañera de mi hermana es muy amable y sincera.
Questions & Answers about La compañera de mi hermana es muy amable y sincera.
Compañera is a general word for a female person you share something with. Its meaning depends on context:
- Compañera de clase – classmate
- Compañera de trabajo – coworker/colleague
- Compañera de piso – flatmate/roommate
- Sometimes just “friend from X context”
In La compañera de mi hermana…, without more context, the most neutral reading is “my sister’s (female) classmate / coworker / teammate / colleague,” depending on the situation already known from context.
Not by default. In Spain:
- The usual word for “girlfriend” is novia.
- The usual neutral word for “partner” is pareja.
Compañera alone normally suggests a classmate, coworker, teammate, etc. It can be used in some contexts to mean a political “comrade” or occasionally a life partner (e.g. mi compañera de vida), but that needs extra words or very clear context.
So in this sentence, most listeners would not automatically assume a romantic relationship.
- La compañera = the companion / my sister’s specific companion (someone already identified in the situation).
- Una compañera = a companion / one of my sister’s companions (non-specific).
In English you often say “My sister’s friend is very kind…”, without the, but in Spanish you usually mark a specific person who is the subject with the definite article:
- La compañera de mi hermana es muy amable…
My sister’s (particular) friend/classmate is very kind…
Yes, you need la. In Spanish, singular countable nouns used as a subject almost always take an article (or another determiner):
- La compañera de mi hermana es… ✅
- Mi compañera es… ✅
- Compañera de mi hermana es… ❌ (sounds wrong)
Dropping the article like English does with “My sister’s friend is…” is not natural in Spanish.
Spanish doesn’t use an ’s construction. Instead, it uses de (“of”):
- La compañera de mi hermana
literally: the companion of my sister
= my sister’s companion/friend
The order is reversed compared to English:
English: my sister’s friend
Spanish: the friend of my sister → la amiga de mi hermana
You can, but it isn’t exactly the same:
- La compañera de mi hermana… – explicitly says “my sister’s companion.”
- Su compañera… – “her companion” or “his companion” or “their companion”, depending on context.
Su is ambiguous; you would need previous context to know that su = “my sister’s.” La compañera de mi hermana is clearer and more precise.
Because ser (es) is used for more permanent or characteristic qualities, while estar is used for temporary states or conditions.
- Es muy amable y sincera = She is (in general) a very kind and sincere person.
- Está muy amable hoy could mean something like “She is being very nice today” (this time/this day, more temporary).
Kindness and sincerity are described here as stable traits, so ser is the natural choice.
Spanish usually puts descriptive adjectives after the noun, or after the verb ser:
- La compañera es amable y sincera.
- Una casa grande.
You could say:
- La amable y sincera compañera de mi hermana…
but that sounds more literary or specially emphasised, like you are introducing her in a more elaborate way. The most neutral, everyday structure is:
- La compañera de mi hermana es muy amable y sincera.
Yes and no:
Sincera comes from sincero/sincera:
- sincero – masculine
- sincera – feminine
It must agree with la compañera (feminine, singular), so you use sincera.
Amable is an adjective that does not change with gender:
- un chico amable – a kind boy
- una chica amable – a kind girl
Only the number changes: - amable (singular)
- amables (plural)
So amable doesn’t show feminine with an -a; it already works for both genders.
Both are correct:
- Es muy amable y sincera. – muy naturally applies to both adjectives.
- Es muy amable y muy sincera. – repeats muy, adding emphasis to each quality separately.
Stylistically, using muy once is slightly more common in everyday speech, but repeating it is fine and can sound a bit more expressive.
You would make the relevant words masculine:
- El compañero de mi hermana es muy amable y sincero.
Changes:
- La compañera → El compañero (feminine → masculine)
- sincera → sincero (agrees with compañero)
- amable stays the same (it doesn’t change with gender)
Make everything that refers to the companions plural:
- Las compañeras de mi hermana son muy amables y sinceras.
Changes:
- La compañera → Las compañeras
- es → son (verb agrees with plural subject)
- amable → amables (plural)
- sincera → sinceras (plural, feminine)
If they were male (or mixed group):
- Los compañeros de mi hermana son muy amables y sinceros.
All three are positive, but they’re not identical:
- Amable – kind, polite, considerate, willing to help. More about how the person treats others.
- Simpática – nice, likeable, friendly, pleasant in personality. Strong “I like her, she’s nice” feeling.
- Agradable – pleasant, agreeable (can describe people, places, experiences).
In this sentence, muy amable y sincera focuses on her kindness and honesty, not just that she’s “nice to be with.”
Both relate to truth, but they’re used a bit differently:
- Sincera – sincere, frank, genuine. She says what she really thinks and feels; she’s not fake.
- Honesta – honest, moral, upright (more about integrity and not cheating, lying, stealing, etc.).
So:
- Es muy sincera. – She is very frank/open/sincere.
- Es muy honesta. – She is very honest (morally trustworthy).
In muy amable y sincera, the idea is that she is both kind and genuinely open/honest.