Learn Spanish (Latin America): Esta porquería tiene puras calorías.

Esta porquería tiene puras calorías.

This junk has nothing but calories.

Breakdown of Esta porquería tiene puras calorías.

pure / nothing but / only

la porquería

junk

Questions & Answers about Esta porquería tiene puras calorías.

Why does puras mean "nothing but" instead of "pure" in this sentence?

In Latin America, puro (and its forms) is often used before a noun to mean "nothing but," "only," or "a whole lot of." It adds an emotional emphasis that words like solo or solamente lack. Here, it emphasizes frustration or judgment that the food consists entirely of calories.

Since it translates to "nothing but," shouldn't it be the fixed word puro instead of puras?

Even though it translates to an English phrase that doesn't change, puro is still acting as an adjective modifying the noun it precedes. Therefore, it must agree in gender and number. Since calorías is feminine and plural, you must use puras.

Is porquería considered a swear word?

No, it's not a swear word, but it is a strong, informal way to say "junk," "garbage," or "crap." It comes from puerco (pig) and is used to describe things that are of very low quality, unhealthy, or literal trash.

Could I say Esta porquería solo tiene calorías instead?

Yes, that is grammatically correct and means "This junk only has calories." However, using puras calorías is much more common in everyday Latin American speech when you want to sound emphatic or exaggerate. Using solo sounds a bit more literal and neutral.