Word
La lámpara nueva queda mejor sobre la mesilla que sobre la cómoda.
Meaning
The new lamp looks better on the side table than on the chest of drawers.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of La lámpara nueva queda mejor sobre la mesilla que sobre la cómoda.
nuevo
new
que
than
sobre
on (resting on a surface)
la lámpara
the lamp
Questions & Answers about La lámpara nueva queda mejor sobre la mesilla que sobre la cómoda.
Why does the sentence use queda mejor instead of es mejor or está mejor?
In this sentence, quedar bien / quedar mejor means to look good / to look better in a particular place, arrangement, or situation.
So La lámpara nueva queda mejor sobre la mesilla... means that the lamp looks better on the bedside table.
- ser would describe an essential quality: Es mejor = It is better
- estar would usually describe a state or condition: Está mejor = It is better / in better condition
- quedar here is about how something looks when placed somewhere
Very common examples:
- Ese vestido te queda bien. = That dress looks good on you / fits you well.
- El cuadro queda mejor en la pared blanca. = The painting looks better on the white wall.
What exactly does quedar mean here?
Here quedar does not mean to stay or to remain, even though it often can in other contexts.
In this sentence, quedar means something like:
So queda mejor means looks better or works better aesthetically.
This is a very common Spanish use of quedar when talking about clothes, decoration, furniture, colors, and arrangement.
Why is nueva after and not before it?