Breakdown of Por muy difícil que parezca el ganchillo, puedes aprender.
muy
very
difícil
difficult
aprender
to learn
poder
to be able to / can
que
that / than
parecer
to seem
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
el ganchillo
crochet
Questions & Answers about Por muy difícil que parezca el ganchillo, puedes aprender.
Why is parezca in the subjunctive instead of the indicative?
Could I say por más difícil que instead of por muy difícil que?
Why does the subject el ganchillo come after the verb parezca?
In Spanish dependent clauses, especially right after the word que, it is very natural and common to invert the word order and put the verb before the subject. Saying ...que el ganchillo parezca is not grammatically wrong, but it sounds a bit clunky to native speakers.
Why doesn't the subjunctive carry over to puedes in the second half of the sentence?
The subjunctive is only triggered inside the dependent clause (por muy... que parezca) because that part represents the hurdle or condition. The main clause (puedes aprender) is a solid declaration of fact, so it stays in the indicative mood.
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