Al final, mi amigo admitió que comparar su trabajo con el mío no tenía sentido.

Al final means in the end, after all, or eventually. In this sentence, it tells us the result after some process or hesitation: your friend eventually admitted something.

It is often similar to in the end rather than finally.

• Al final, mi amigo admitió... = In the end, my friend admitted...

A learner should also know that finalmente can also mean finally, but al final is very common when talking about the eventual outcome of a situation.

Admitió is the preterite form of admitir for él/ella/usted. It is used because the sentence refers to a completed action in the past: your friend admitted it at a specific point.

• admitió = he/she admitted

If you said admitía, that would usually suggest an ongoing, repeated, or background action in the past, which does not fit as well here.

So:

• mi amigo admitió = my friend admitted
• not was admitting or used to admit

After verbs like admitir, decir, pensar, creer, and many others, Spanish often uses que to introduce the thing being said, thought, or admitted.

Here:

• mi amigo admitió que... = my friend admitted that...

The que introduces the full idea that follows:

• comparar su trabajo con el mío no tenía sentido

In English, that is sometimes optional:

• He admitted that...
• He admitted...

In Spanish, que is normally required here.

Comparar is in the infinitive because the whole infinitive phrase functions like a noun phrase or subject:

• comparar su trabajo con el mío = comparing his work with mine

This entire action is the subject of no tenía sentido:

• Comparar su trabajo con el mío no tenía sentido
• Comparing his work with mine made no sense

Spanish very often uses an infinitive this way, where English might use an -ing form.

More examples:

• Fumar es malo = Smoking is bad
• Leer ayuda mucho = Reading helps a lot

Yes — su can mean several things depending on context:

• his
• her
• your (formal singular)
• its
• sometimes their (singular form used before the noun)

In this sentence, mi amigo makes it clear that su trabajo means his work.

Spanish possessives are often less specific than English ones, so context matters a lot.

If you wanted to make it extra clear, Spanish could say:

• el trabajo de mi amigo

But su trabajo is perfectly natural here.

When a possessive like mío, tuyo, suyo, etc. stands alone instead of directly before a noun, it usually takes an article:

• el mío = mine
• el tuyo = yours
• el suyo = his/hers/yours/theirs

Here, the noun trabajo is understood and not repeated:

• su trabajo con el mío
• literally: his work with mine

So el mío means my work.

Compare:

• mi trabajo = my work
• el mío = mine / my one / my work

The accent mark in mío shows the stress and helps indicate that the vowels are pronounced in separate syllables:

• mí-o

Without the accent, Spanish pronunciation rules would suggest a different reading.

Many stressed possessive forms have accents:

• mío
• mía
• míos
• mías

But the short possessive before the noun does not:

• mi trabajo

So:

• mi = my
• mí = me after a preposition
• mío = mine

The usual Spanish pattern is:

• comparar X con Y = to compare X with Y

So:

• comparar su trabajo con el mío = to compare his work with mine

Spanish can sometimes use comparar X y Y, but comparar ... con ... is extremely common and is the safest structure for learners.

Both are possible in some contexts, but no tenía sentido is very natural here because it presents the idea as a general judgment or state:

• it didn’t make sense
• it was pointless

The imperfect (tenía) often describes a state, situation, or evaluation in the past rather than a single completed event.

So this sentence suggests:

• your friend admitted that comparing the two jobs was not something sensible / was pointless

If you said no tuvo sentido, it would sound more like it turned out not to make sense at that moment as a bounded event. Here, tenía fits the idea better.

Yes, very close. No tener sentido literally means not to make sense, but depending on context it can also mean:

• to be pointless
• to be meaningless
• not to be sensible

In this sentence, all of these are possible translations:

• ...admitted that comparing his work with mine made no sense
• ...admitted that it was pointless to compare his work with mine

The Spanish expression is very common and useful.

El mío refers back to trabajo.

So:

• su trabajo = his work
• el mío = mine, meaning my work

Spanish often avoids repeating a noun if it is already clear. That is why the sentence does not say:

• comparar su trabajo con mi trabajo

Instead, it uses the more natural:

• comparar su trabajo con el mío

Possibly, but the meaning changes slightly.

• admitió = admitted
• confesó = confessed

Admitir is the normal choice when someone accepts something is true, especially after resisting it or avoiding saying it.

Confesar is stronger and can sound more dramatic, emotional, or connected to guilt.

So in this sentence:

• mi amigo admitió que... sounds very natural
• mi amigo confesó que... would sound heavier, as if he were revealing something more personal or serious

This is a very normal Spanish structure. The infinitive phrase acts as the subject, followed by the verb phrase:

• Comparar su trabajo con el mío = subject
• no tenía sentido = predicate

Literally:

• To compare his work with mine did not make sense

English often prefers:

• Comparing his work with mine made no sense

Spanish is comfortable using an infinitive at the beginning like this. It sounds natural and correct.