Breakdown of Una persona humilde puede llegar a ser un líder de la fe.
ser
to be
de
from / of
un
a, an (masculine)
una
a, an (feminine)
a
to
llegar
to arrive
la persona
person
poder
to be able to / can
el líder
the leader
humilde
humble
la fe
faith
Questions & Answers about Una persona humilde puede llegar a ser un líder de la fe.
Why is "llegar a ser" used here to mean "to become"?
The phrase llegar a ser translates literally to "to arrive to be". It is used for changes that are the culmination of a long process, hard work, or a series of events. Since going from a humble person to a leader of the faith takes significant time and effort, this is the perfect verb of change to use here.
I learned we shouldn't use "un" or "una" with professions or roles. Why is it "un líder" here?
It is true that after verbs like ser or llegar a ser, you normally drop the article for professions and roles (for example, Llegó a ser líder). But there is an exception: if you add descriptive words after the role, you must bring the article back. Because the sentence specifies the person is a leader de la fe (of the faith), we need un.
Since "una persona" is feminine, why does the sentence use the masculine "un líder"?
The word persona is always grammatically feminine, even if it refers to a man. Because this sentence is talking about a general, hypothetical person rather than a specific woman, it uses the default masculine form un líder for the resulting role. If we were talking about a specific woman, it would be una líder.
Why doesn't "humilde" end in "a" to match "una persona"?
Adjectives that end in the letter -e (like humilde, inteligente, or amable) are gender-neutral. They don't change to -a or -o depending on the noun's gender; they only change to add an -s if the noun is plural.
Learn Una persona humilde puede llegar a ser un líder de la fe and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free