Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): La capital del norte no es tan grande como la del sur, pero tiene una muralla muy bonita. - The capital of the north is not as big as the one in the south, but it has a very beautiful wall.

Word

La capital del norte no es tan grande como la del sur, pero tiene una muralla muy bonita.

Meaning

The capital of the north is not as big as the one in the south, but it has a very beautiful wall.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Spanish (Spain)

Lesson

Lesson 94

Breakdown of La capital del norte no es tan grande como la del sur, pero tiene una muralla muy bonita.

Questions & Answers about La capital del norte no es tan grande como la del sur, pero tiene una muralla muy bonita.

Why is it del norte and not de el norte?

Because de + el contracts to del in Spanish.

de el norte → del norte
This contraction is mandatory.

So la capital del norte means the capital of the north.

A useful contrast:

de + la does not contract, so you say de la ciudad, not dela ciudad.

Why is it la capital? Is capital always feminine in Spanish?

In this sentence, capital means capital city, and that noun is feminine in Spanish: la capital.

Examples:

Madrid es la capital de España.
La capital del norte...

Be careful: some words ending in -al are masculine, but grammatical gender in Spanish is not always predictable from the ending alone. Here, you simply learn it as la capital.

What does la del sur mean exactly?