Learn Spanish (Latin America): Mi hermana rebelde escondía sus notas terribles. - My rebellious sister used to hide her terrible grades.

Mi hermana rebelde escondía sus notas terribles.

My rebellious sister used to hide her terrible grades.

Breakdown of Mi hermana rebelde escondía sus notas terribles.

la hermana

the sister

his/her/its/their/your (formal)

esconder

to hide

Questions & Answers about Mi hermana rebelde escondía sus notas terribles.

Why translate escondía as "used to hide" instead of just "hid"?

Escondía is the imperfect tense of esconder (to hide). We use the imperfect to talk about habits, routines, or repeated actions in the past. Translating it as "used to hide" captures that it was a continuous or repeated action, not just a one-time event.

How do we get the ending for escondía?

To form the imperfect for regular -er verbs like esconder, you drop the -er and add -ía for the él/ella/usted form. Notice that the yo form is exactly the same (yo escondía), so we rely on the context or the subject (mi hermana) to know who is doing the action!

I thought notas meant "notes". Does it also mean "grades"?

Yes! While notas can mean "notes" (like musical notes or written messages), in a school context, it is the standard word for "grades" or "marks" on a test or report card.

Why is it sus notas (plural) if it's talking about one sister ("her")?

In Spanish, possessive adjectives like su or sus must match the amount of the things being owned, not the owner. Because she is hiding multiple grades (notas), you have to use the plural sus, even though there is only one sister doing the hiding.