Breakdown of Esta es la lana más áspera de la tienda.
ser
to be
de
from / of
la tienda
the store
esta
this (feminine)
más
more
la
the (feminine)
la lana
wool
áspero
rough
Questions & Answers about Esta es la lana más áspera de la tienda.
Why is the preposition 'de' used here instead of 'en' for 'in the store'?
In Spanish superlative phrases like la más áspera (the roughest), the group or place you are comparing something to is always introduced by the preposition de, not en. Even though we say 'in the store' in English, Spanish conceptually says 'the roughest of the store' (de la tienda).
How would I apply the structure from this lesson to say 'No matter how rough this wool is...'?
Why is it Esta and not Ésta with an accent mark, since it's acting as a pronoun ('This is...')?
The RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) updated its orthography rules in 2010, stating that demonstrative pronouns like este and esta no longer require a written accent mark (tilde) to distinguish them from adjectives, even when they stand alone as the subject. Modern Spanish simply uses Esta es...
Could I change the word order to Esta es la más áspera lana?
No, that would sound unnatural. Unlike English, which places the entire superlative phrase before the noun ('the roughest wool'), Spanish generally keeps the noun right after the article, followed by the comparison: la lana más áspera (literally, 'the wool most rough').
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