Mi abuelo subió veintiséis escalones hasta el mirador sin parar.

Subió is the preterite form of subir for él/ella/usted.

• subir = to go up / to climb
• subió = he/she went up / climbed

The preterite is used because this sentence describes a completed action: your grandfather went up the steps, reached the lookout, and the action is finished.

So:

• Mi abuelo subió... = My grandfather climbed/went up...

If you used the imperfect instead, it would sound more like an ongoing or habitual action:

• Mi abuelo subía... = My grandfather was going up / used to go up...

It can mean both, depending on context.

In this sentence, subió veintiséis escalones could naturally be translated as:

• climbed twenty-six steps
• went up twenty-six steps

English often prefers climbed when talking about steps, stairs, hills, etc., but Spanish commonly uses subir in a broad way for upward movement.

In Spanish, short possessive adjectives like mi, tu, su, nuestro normally go before the noun and replace the article.

So you say:

• mi abuelo = my grandfather

Not:

• el mi abuelo

This is different from English only in structure, not meaning.

A few examples:

• mi casa = my house
• tu libro = your book
• su coche = his/her/your car

Because Spanish usually doesn't need subject pronouns when the subject is already clear.

Here, the subject is explicitly stated as Mi abuelo, so adding él would be unnecessary:

• Mi abuelo subió... = perfectly normal

Spanish often leaves out pronouns because the verb form already helps identify the subject:

• subí = I went up
• subiste = you went up
• subió = he/she/you went up

Numbers from 16 to 29 are commonly written as one word in Spanish:

• dieciséis
• veintiuno
• veintiséis
• veintidós
• veintitrés

The accent mark in veintiséis is there because of stress. Without the accent, the natural stress rules would put the stress in the wrong place. The correct pronunciation stresses the last part:

• veintiséis

This is similar to:

• veintidós
• veintitrés

This is a very common question.

• escalón = a single step
• escalones = steps
• escalera can mean staircase, flight of stairs, or even ladder, depending on context

So:

• subió veintiséis escalones = he climbed twenty-six individual steps

If the sentence used escaleras, it would focus more on the staircase as a whole, not the exact number of steps.

Hasta means up to, as far as, or until, depending on context.

Here it marks the destination:

• hasta el mirador = up to the lookout / as far as the viewpoint

So the sentence tells you where the climbing ended.

A useful comparison:

• Fue hasta la plaza = He went as far as the square.
• Trabajó hasta las seis = He worked until six.

In this sentence, it is about place, not time.

Mirador usually means a lookout point, viewpoint, or observation spot.

In Spain, it often refers to a place designed for enjoying the view, especially in scenic areas, towns, mountains, or historic buildings.

So el mirador here is probably a place at the top where people can look out over the surroundings.

Because after the preposition sin (without), Spanish normally uses an infinitive when the subject stays the same.

So:

• sin parar = without stopping

This is a very common pattern:

• sin hablar = without speaking
• sin comer = without eating
• sin mirar = without looking

You do not use a conjugated verb after sin in this kind of structure.

Yes. In many contexts, sin parar is very close to without stopping or nonstop.

So this part of the sentence suggests continuous effort:

• he climbed all twenty-six steps
• he did it without taking a break

Depending on context, English translations could include:

• without stopping
• nonstop
• without a pause

Yes, Spanish word order is fairly flexible, though this version is very natural.

The basic structure here is:

• Mi abuelo — subject
• subió — verb
• veintiséis escalones — direct object / measure of what was climbed
• hasta el mirador — destination
• sin parar — manner

You could move some parts for emphasis:

• Mi abuelo subió sin parar veintiséis escalones hasta el mirador.
• Hasta el mirador, mi abuelo subió veintiséis escalones sin parar.

These are possible, but the original sentence sounds very straightforward and neutral.

It is pronounced roughly soo-BYOH.

The accent mark on ó shows that the stress falls on the last syllable:

• su-bió

Without the accent, Spanish stress rules would make you expect the stress elsewhere. The written accent makes the pronunciation clear.

Because the noun is el mirador.

Many Spanish nouns ending in -or are masculine:

• el color
• el profesor
• el mirador

So you use:

• el mirador

Not:

• la mirador

As always, grammatical gender in Spanish is a property of the noun itself; it doesn't necessarily mean anything about biological sex.

Usually subió is the better choice here.

• subir = to go up, to climb
• trepar = to climb in a more physical sense, often like scrambling or clambering

For stairs or steps, Spanish normally prefers subir:

• subió las escaleras
• subió los escalones

Trepar would sound more like climbing a tree, wall, or something requiring hands and effort:

• trepó al árbol = he climbed the tree

So subió is the natural verb in this sentence.