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Por muy áspera que sea la lana, me gusta el suéter.

Por muy áspera que sea la lana, me gusta el suéter.
No matter how rough the wool is, I like the sweater.
From Lesson 417:No matter how (por muy... que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Por muy áspera que sea la lana, me gusta el suéter.

Why do we use the subjunctive sea here instead of the indicative es?
In the structure por muy + adjective + que, Spanish generally requires the subjunctive (here, sea). It translates to "no matter how [adjective]", signaling that the condition doesn't change the main outcome. Even if you already know for a fact that the wool is rough, the subjunctive is used here to dismiss that fact as an obstacle.
Does the adjective áspera have to match the noun it describes in this structure?
Yes. Because áspera (rough) is an adjective describing la lana (the wool), it must match it in gender and number. If we were talking about rough coats (los abrigos), it would be por muy ásperos que sean los abrigos.
Could I use por mucha instead of por muy in this sentence?
No, because áspera is an adjective. You must use por muy before adjectives and adverbs to mean "no matter how". You use por mucho or por mucha before nouns to mean "no matter how much" (for example, por mucha lana que tenga means "no matter how much wool it has").
Why is the subject la lana placed after the verb sea?
In this type of subordinate clause, it is much more natural to invert the subject and the verb. Saying por muy áspera que la lana sea sounds rigid and unnatural to a native speaker, so placing the verb sea right after que flows much better.

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