Breakdown of A mi hermana le viene mejor el sábado, porque todavía le queda por terminar el informe.
Questions & Answers about A mi hermana le viene mejor el sábado, porque todavía le queda por terminar el informe.
Why does the sentence have both a mi hermana and le? Don’t they both mean to my sister?
Yes — both point to the same person, and this is very normal in Spanish.
This is called indirect object doubling. In Spanish, when the indirect object is a person, it is very common to include:
- the indirect object pronoun: le
- and also the full phrase naming the person: a mi hermana
So:
literally has both to my sister and to her, but in natural Spanish that is completely standard.
The full phrase a mi hermana helps clarify or emphasize who we are talking about, while le is the pronoun that the verb normally uses.
Without the full phrase, you could also say:
- Le viene mejor el sábado
if it is already clear that le refers to your sister.
What does le viene mejor mean here? Why is the verb venir being used?
In this expression, venir mejor means something like:
- to suit someone better
- to be better for someone
- to work better for someone
So:
- A mi hermana le viene mejor el sábado
means Saturday suits my sister better or Saturday works better for my sister.
Even though venir usually means to come, in this idiomatic expression it does not literally mean physical movement.
A useful pattern is:
- A alguien le viene bien = something suits someone / works well for someone
- A alguien le viene mejor = something suits someone better
Examples:
- Me viene bien mañana. = Tomorrow works for me.
- ¿Te viene mejor por la tarde? = Does the afternoon suit you better?
This is a very common everyday expression.
Why is it el sábado and not en sábado?
In Spanish, days of the week often take the definite article:
- el lunes
- el martes
- el sábado
So el sábado here means on Saturday.
Spanish usually does not need a separate word like on before days of the week.
Compare:
- Nos vemos el sábado. = We’ll see each other on Saturday.
- Trabajo el lunes. = I work on Monday.
So in this sentence:
- le viene mejor el sábado = Saturday suits her better / it works better for her on Saturday
Why is the present tense used in le viene mejor and le queda if the sentence talks about Saturday and a report that still isn’t finished?
Spanish often uses the present tense for:
- current situations
- planned or expected future arrangements
- general facts about what works better
So:
- A mi hermana le viene mejor el sábado
does not mean it is Saturday now. It means that, in terms of scheduling, Saturday is better for her.
And:
- todavía le queda por terminar el informe
means that as of now, she still has the report left to finish.
This is very similar to English, where we can also say things like:
- Saturday works better for her
- She still has the report to finish
What does le queda por terminar el informe mean exactly?
The structure quedar por + infinitive means:
So:
- Le queda por terminar el informe
means She still has the report left to finish.
The verb quedar here means something like to remain or to be left.
Other examples:
- Me queda por leer este capítulo. = I still have this chapter left to read.
- Nos quedan por hacer dos ejercicios. = We still have two exercises left to do.
It is a very useful structure for unfinished tasks.
Why is there another le in porque todavía le queda por terminar el informe?
That le again refers to mi hermana.
The verb phrase quedar por + infinitive often uses an indirect object pronoun to show who has something left to do.
So:
- le queda por terminar el informe
literally means something like the report remains for her to finish
In more natural English:
- she still has the report left to finish
So the two le pronouns in the sentence both refer to the sister:
- le viene mejor = it suits her better
- le queda por terminar = she still has left to finish
Why is it todavía le queda and not le todavía queda?
Because todavía normally goes before the verb or before the whole verbal idea it modifies.
So these are natural:
This placement makes todavía clearly modify the idea of still remains.
Spanish word order is flexible, but le todavía queda sounds wrong.
A native speaker would normally place todavía before le queda.
Can todavía be replaced by aún?
Yes. In this sentence, todavía and aún mean the same thing: still.
So you could say:
Both are correct and natural.
Very broadly:
- todavía is extremely common in speech
- aún can sound slightly more formal or literary in some contexts, but it is also very normal
Here there is no important difference in meaning.
Could you say tiene que terminar el informe instead of le queda por terminar el informe?
Yes, but the meaning is slightly different.
- Todavía tiene que terminar el informe = She still has to finish the report
- Todavía le queda por terminar el informe = She still has the report left to finish
The second version focuses more on what remains unfinished. It gives a sense of remaining work.
The first version focuses more on obligation or necessity.
So both can work, but le queda por terminar emphasizes that the report is one of the tasks still pending.
Could viene mejor be replaced by conviene más?
Sometimes, yes, but they are not exactly the same in tone.
- Le viene mejor el sábado = Saturday works better for her / suits her better
- Le conviene más el sábado = Saturday is more convenient / more advisable for her
Venir bien / venir mejor is very common in everyday conversation and often sounds more natural for schedules and arrangements.
Convenir can sound a bit more formal or more about what is advisable or convenient in a broader sense.
So for making plans, le viene mejor is especially idiomatic.
Is A mi hermana le viene mejor el sábado a fixed word order, or can it change?
The word order can change somewhat, but the original order is very natural.
Original:
Other possible orders:
- El sábado le viene mejor a mi hermana
- Le viene mejor el sábado a mi hermana
These alternatives may shift the emphasis slightly:
- starting with el sábado highlights the day
- starting with a mi hermana highlights the person
But the original version is very natural if you are talking about your sister and then explaining what day works better for her.
Why is informe used with el? Is it just a specific report?
Yes. El informe means the report, so it refers to a specific report that both speaker and listener can identify from context.
So:
If it were not specific, Spanish might use:
- un informe = a report
But in this sentence, el informe suggests that the report is already known or understood in the conversation.
Is this sentence especially typical of Spanish from Spain, or would it also be understood elsewhere?
It would be understood everywhere in the Spanish-speaking world.
That said, venir bien / venir mejor is especially common and very natural in Spain. It is also used in other places, though some regions might prefer other expressions in certain contexts, such as:
But the sentence itself is perfectly standard Spanish and would be widely understood.
What is the overall structure of the sentence?
It has two main parts joined by porque:
A mi hermana le viene mejor el sábado
= Saturday works better for my sisterporque todavía le queda por terminar el informe
= because she still has the report left to finish
So the logic is:
- Saturday suits her better
- because she still has a report to finish
It is a very natural way to explain someone’s scheduling preference in Spanish.
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