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Mi suéter está sucio, pero el de mi hermano está limpio.

Mi suéter está sucio, pero el de mi hermano está limpio.
My sweater is dirty, but my brother's is clean.
From Lesson 139:Avoiding repetition (el de, la de, los de, las de)·Spanish (Latin America)

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)
sucio
dirty
limpio
clean
mi
my
el suéter
sweater

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?
It matches the sweater! A common mistake is to make the article match the owner. But since el is replacing suéter (a masculine singular word), it stays el even if you were talking about your sister (el de mi hermana).
Why are we using está instead of es for "is dirty" and "is clean"?
We use está (from the verb estar) because being dirty (sucio) or clean (limpio) is a temporary state or condition. If you used es (from the verb ser), it would imply the sweater is inherently dirty by its very nature!
Could I say el suéter de mi hermano instead of el de mi hermano?
Yes, you absolutely can! Saying el suéter de mi hermano is completely correct, but using el de is a very natural and efficient way for Spanish speakers to avoid repeating the same noun twice in one sentence.

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