Breakdown of ¡Qué garra tan grande tiene ese halcón!
tener
to have
grande
big
qué
what
ese
that (masculine)
tan
as / so
el halcón
the falcon
la garra
the claw
Questions & Answers about ¡Qué garra tan grande tiene ese halcón!
Why do we use tan here instead of muy?
When making an exclamation that translates to 'What a [adjective] [noun]!', Spanish uses the structure Qué + noun + tan (or más) + adjective. You cannot use muy in this specific exclamatory structure, so 'What a big claw!' translates to ¡Qué garra tan grande!
Could I say ¡Qué garra más grande! instead?
Yes, absolutely. In this type of exclamation, tan and más are interchangeable. ¡Qué garra más grande tiene ese halcón! means exactly the same thing and is equally common across Latin America.
Why is the verb tiene placed before the subject ese halcón?
In Spanish exclamations (and questions), it is highly natural to invert the subject and verb. While putting the subject first wouldn't be strictly wrong, keeping the verb closely attached to the exclamatory phrase (¡Qué garra tan grande tiene...!) flows much better and sounds more native.
I've heard the word garra used when talking about sports. Does it mean something else?
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