Question 1

Why does this sentence use mayor instead of más viejo for "older"?

Accepted Answer

Mayor is an irregular comparative that specifically means "older" when talking about age. While más viejo literally translates to "more old," it sounds quite harsh or rude when referring to people, especially family members. It is much more natural and common to use hermano mayor for "older brother."

Question 2

Does mayor change depending on the gender of the sibling?

Accepted Answer

No, it doesn't! Because mayor ends in a consonant (-r), it is the same for both masculine and feminine nouns. You say mi hermano mayor for "my older brother" and mi hermana mayor for "my older sister." If you have multiple older siblings, you just add -es to make it plural: mis hermanos mayores.

Question 3

I learned that we drop words like un or una when talking about professions or being a student. Why is un used here?

Accepted Answer

You are completely right that in Spanish we normally drop the article for professions or roles. For example, if you just wanted to say "He is a student," you would say Él es estudiante. However, there is a special rule: if you add a descriptive word (an adjective) to say what kind of student they are (like excelente), you must bring the un or una back. That's why this sentence says es un estudiante excelente.

Question 4

Why do we use es (from ser) instead of está (from estar) here?

Accepted Answer

We use es because being a brother, being a student, and being "excellent" at it are all treated as core characteristics or identities in Spanish. The verb ser is used to describe these defining traits, whereas estar is used for temporary states, locations, or feelings.

Mi hermano mayor es un estudiante excelente.

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