Breakdown of El hombre está quieto, pero lleva diez minutos sin hablar porque tiene un apuro grandísimo.
pero
but
tener
to have
un
a, an (masculine)
hablar
to speak / to talk
grande
big
estar
to be (location/state)
el hombre
the man
porque
because
el minuto
minute
diez
ten
sin
without
llevar
to have been (doing) for a time
quieto
still / motionless (not moving)
el apuro
the rush / the hurry
Questions & Answers about El hombre está quieto, pero lleva diez minutos sin hablar porque tiene un apuro grandísimo.
How does the phrase lleva diez minutos sin hablar work in this sentence?
This is the negative durative structure you are currently studying. It uses llevar (to spend time) plus a time expression (diez minutos) plus sin (without) plus an infinitive (hablar). It translates to "he hasn't spoken in ten minutes." It is the standard, natural way to express how long someone has gone without doing an action.
Why does the sentence use está quieto instead of es quieto?
We use está here because it refers to his temporary physical state at this exact moment: he is holding still. If we used es quieto, it would describe a permanent characteristic, meaning he is a naturally calm or quiet person in general.
Does tiene un apuro mean he is in an embarrassing predicament?
Could I just say un apuro muy grande instead of un apuro grandísimo?
Yes, both are correct, but adding the suffix -ísimo makes it an absolute superlative, which provides much stronger emphasis. It elevates "a very big rush" to "a huge, massive rush." Notice that the final vowel in grande is dropped to form grandísimo.
Why doesn't apuro match the feminine gender of the word 'hurry' in English?
Gender in Spanish is a property of the noun itself, completely independent of its English translation. Apuro ends in 'o' and is masculine, so it takes the masculine articles el or un and masculine adjectives like grandísimo.
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