Breakdown of Los gemelos tienen una sonrisa idéntica.
tener
to have
una
a, an (feminine)
el gemelo
twin
la sonrisa
smile
idéntico
identical
Questions & Answers about Los gemelos tienen una sonrisa idéntica.
Why doesn't this sentence use igual de... que from the current lesson?
The phrase igual de is used to compare adjectives or adverbs (like igual de grande que, meaning 'as big as'). Because idéntica already means 'exactly the same', you don't need a comparative structure here. If you wanted to use the lesson's grammar to say their smiles are equally beautiful, you would say: Un gemelo tiene una sonrisa igual de bonita que el otro (One twin has a smile as pretty as the other).
What is the difference between gemelos and mellizos?
Gemelos usually refers specifically to identical twins, which fits perfectly with them having an idéntica (identical) smile. Mellizos is used for fraternal twins. In casual conversation, some people use gemelos for all twins, but the distinction is very common in Spanish.
Since there are two twins, why does the sentence say una sonrisa (a smile) instead of sonrisas (smiles)?
Why does idéntica have an accent mark?
Idéntica is an esdrújula word, meaning the spoken stress falls on the third-to-last syllable (dén-ti-ca). In Spanish, all words with this stress pattern require a written accent mark. It also ends in -a here to match the feminine noun sonrisa.
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