Breakdown of El negocio de mi cuñado es grande, y el de mi yerno también.
ser
to be
de
from / of
y
and
también
also
grande
big
mi
my
el negocio
the business
el cuñado
brother-in-law
el yerno
son-in-law
Questions & Answers about El negocio de mi cuñado es grande, y el de mi yerno también.
What exactly does el refer to in the phrase el de mi yerno?
Could I use lo de mi yerno instead of el de mi yerno?
Not in this context. Because you are referring back to a specific masculine noun (el negocio), you must use el. The phrase lo de mi yerno uses the neuter article lo and would mean something like "the situation with my son-in-law" or "the matter concerning my son-in-law," rather than referring to his business.
How would the second half of the sentence change if we were talking about "companies" (las empresas) instead of a "business"?
Why isn't there a direct translation for the apostrophe-s ('s) used in "son-in-law's"?
Spanish doesn't have an apostrophe-S structure to show possession. Instead, ownership is always shown using the preposition de (of). "My brother-in-law's business" is phrased as "the business of my brother-in-law" (el negocio de mi cuñado). When you drop the noun at the end of the sentence to just say "my son-in-law's," Spanish still requires that "of" structure, which gives us el de mi yerno.
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