Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Aunque el acuario ocupa bastante espacio, mi madre dice que el pez la relaja. - Although the aquarium takes up quite a lot of space, my mother says the fish relaxes her.

Word

Aunque el acuario ocupa bastante espacio, mi madre dice que el pez la relaja.

Meaning

Although the aquarium takes up quite a lot of space, my mother says the fish relaxes her.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of Aunque el acuario ocupa bastante espacio, mi madre dice que el pez la relaja.

What does aunque mean here, and why is it at the beginning of the sentence?

Aunque means although / even though. It introduces a contrast:

Aunque el acuario ocupa bastante espacio = Although the aquarium takes up quite a lot of space
mi madre dice que el pez la relaja = my mother says the fish relaxes her

Putting aunque at the beginning is very natural in Spanish when you want to present the objection or downside first.

Why is it ocupa bastante espacio instead of something more literal like takes space?

Spanish uses the verb ocupar very often to mean to take up space, time, room, etc.

So:

This is a very common and natural Spanish structure.

What does bastante espacio mean exactly?

Bastante here means quite a lot of / a fair amount of.

So bastante espacio means:

It does not have to mean an extreme amount. It often suggests more than is ideal, but not necessarily huge.

Why is there no article before espacio?