Breakdown of Es la única mesa del restaurante.
ser
to be
la mesa
the table
el restaurante
the restaurant
único
only (unique)
Questions & Answers about Es la única mesa del restaurante.
Why does it say del restaurante instead of en el restaurante?
In English, we usually say 'the best in the world' or 'the only table in the restaurant.' But in Spanish, when you use a relative superlative (like 'the biggest') or an exclusive word like única (the only), you use the preposition de (of) to define the group or place. Since de + el combines to form del, it becomes del restaurante.
Why is única placed before mesa?
Most descriptive adjectives go after the noun in Spanish, but único (only/unique) is a common exception. When it means 'only,' it almost always goes before the noun, just like in English: la única mesa (the only table).
If this is about a physical table in a restaurant, why do we use es instead of está?
Even though the sentence mentions a restaurant, we aren't describing the table's physical location here (like 'The table is over there'). We are identifying what the object is ('It is the only table'). For defining or identifying things, we always use the verb ser (es).
Where is the word for 'It' at the beginning of the sentence?
Spanish rarely uses a subject pronoun for 'it.' Because the verb form es already tells us we are talking about a third-person subject (he, she, or it), the 'it' is simply built into the verb.