Breakdown of Es posible que el trámite sea complicado, pero lo importante es mantener la calma.
Questions & Answers about Es posible que el trámite sea complicado, pero lo importante es mantener la calma.
Because es posible que + clause expresses uncertainty/possibility rather than a confirmed fact. In Spanish, that kind of meaning typically requires the subjunctive in the subordinate clause: Es posible que el trámite sea complicado.
Sea is the present subjunctive form of ser (yo sea, tú seas, él/ella/usted sea…). Since es posible que requires the subjunctive, you use sea instead of the indicative es.
Sea is present subjunctive. It usually refers to something present or general (now/in general), not necessarily “right this second.” Here it means: it may turn out (now/when you do it) that the process is complicated.
In most contexts, sea complicado is the natural choice because it describes the nature/character of the procedure (it’s complicated as a general quality).
Esté complicado can exist, but it tends to imply a temporary state or “it’s gotten tricky right now” (e.g., due to a specific situation). For a general warning, ser + complicado fits best.
In Spain, el trámite commonly means an administrative procedure or piece of bureaucracy (paperwork, official steps, dealing with offices).
It’s masculine in Spanish, so it takes el: el trámite, un trámite.
Lo + adjective turns the adjective into an abstract noun meaning “the [adjective] thing / what is [adjective].”
So lo importante = the important part / what matters.
El importante would mean the important (male) person/thing, which is a different idea.
Spanish often uses es + infinitive to express “the important thing is to…”:
Lo importante es mantener la calma = “What matters is staying calm.”
You can use a clause with que in other contexts (often with subjunctive), e.g. Lo importante es que mantengas la calma (addressing someone directly: “What matters is that you stay calm”). The infinitive here keeps it general.
Because it’s functioning like a noun phrase after es:
Lo importante es + infinitive.
It’s like saying “The key thing is to maintain calm.”
Yes, mantener la calma is a very common, natural phrase meaning to stay calm / keep calm. Common alternatives include guardar la calma and mantenerse tranquilo/a (more personal: “to keep oneself calm”).
Here que introduces a subordinate clause: que el trámite sea complicado. It’s equivalent to “that” in English, but in Spanish it’s essentially required in this structure.
Pero means but and sets up a contrast:
1) Possible difficulty: Es posible que el trámite sea complicado
2) The priority anyway: pero lo importante es mantener la calma
So the sentence acknowledges a potential problem, then shifts to advice on the attitude to take.
Yes, very often. Puede que el trámite sea complicado is natural and also takes the subjunctive.
A rough nuance: Es posible que can sound a bit more formal/neutral; Puede que is very common in everyday speech too.
A few common ones:
- trámite has stress on the first syllable: TRÁ-mi-te (accent mark shows the stress).
- In much of Spain, c in calma is just a normal k sound (no special Spain-only sound there), but if you say words like posible, the s is clear (not aspirated as in some other dialects).
- complicado: stress on -ca-: com-pli-CA-do.