Breakdown of A una le importa más el honor que la victoria.
a
to
que
that / than
le
to him / to her / to you (formal)
importar
to matter / to care
más
more
el honor
the honor
la victoria
the victory
una
one (impersonal, feminine)
Questions & Answers about A una le importa más el honor que la victoria.
Why does the sentence use una instead of uno?
The speaker of this sentence is female. When making a general statement using the impersonal "one," female speakers often use una instead of uno to reflect their own gender, even though the statement applies to people in general.
Why does the sentence start with A una and use the pronoun le?
The verb importar (to matter / to care about) works exactly like gustar. This sentence literally translates to "To one, honor matters more than victory." The A una clarifies who the statement applies to, and the indirect object pronoun le is required by this verb structure to show who is being affected.
What is the actual subject of the verb importa here?
Why do we need the articles in el honor and la victoria if the English translation just says "honor" and "victory"?
In Spanish, when you talk about abstract concepts or general categories (like honor, victory, love, or time) as the subject of a sentence or a general idea, you must include the definite article (el, la, los, las). English usually drops the article in these situations.
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