Learn Spanish (Latin America): El tema es un problema grande.

El tema es un problema grande.

The topic is a big problem.

Breakdown of El tema es un problema grande.

Questions & Answers about El tema es un problema grande.

Wait, why is it el tema and un problema? Don't words ending in -a usually take la and una?

Usually, yes! But there is a group of rule-breaking nouns in Spanish that end in -ma but are actually masculine. Many of these words come from ancient Greek. El tema (the topic) and el problema (the problem) are two of the most common exceptions you will need to memorize. That is why we use the masculine words el and un with them.

Why does grande come after problema instead of before it?

In English, we put the adjective before the noun, like in "a big problem." In Spanish, descriptive adjectives usually go right after the noun they describe. So, "a big problem" becomes un problema grande (literally: "a problem big").

Since problema is masculine, shouldn't grande change to grando?

Not all adjectives change their endings to match gender. Adjectives that end in -o change to -a for feminine words. But adjectives that end in -e, like grande (big) or inteligente (smart), are neutral. They stay exactly the same for both masculine and feminine nouns.

Why does this sentence use es instead of está for "is"?