Breakdown of Mi suéter está sucio, pero el de mi hermano está limpio.
de
from / of
pero
but
el hermano
the brother
estar
to be (location/state)
Questions & Answers about Mi suéter está sucio, pero el de mi hermano está limpio.
Why do we use el de instead of just repeating suéter?
In English, we say "my brother's" to avoid repeating the word "sweater". In Spanish, we use a definite article (el, la, los, las) plus de. Since suéter is masculine and singular, we use el de, which literally means "the one of".
Does the el in el de match the brother or the sweater?
Why are we using está instead of es for "is dirty" and "is clean"?
Could I say el suéter de mi hermano instead of el de mi hermano?