Breakdown of Es una historia muy triste, ¡qué pena!
ser
to be
un
a, an, some
muy
very
qué
what
triste
sad
la historia
the story / the history
la pena
the pity
Questions & Answers about Es una historia muy triste, ¡qué pena!
Why is there no word for "a" in ¡qué pena! when in English we say "what a pity"?
In Spanish exclamations using ¡qué! followed by a noun, you never use an indefinite article like un or una. You just use ¡qué! directly followed by the noun, so "what a pity!" is simply ¡qué pena!.
Does pena literally mean "pity"?
Pena can mean "pity", "shame", or "sorrow". The phrase ¡qué pena! is the most common way to express "what a pity!" or "what a shame!" in everyday Spanish.
Since historia is a feminine noun, shouldn't triste end in an 'a'?
Adjectives that end in -e in their dictionary form, like triste (sad) or inteligente (smart), do not change to match masculine or feminine nouns. They only change when made plural by adding an -s.
Why do we use es instead of está for a feeling like "sad"?
Can historia mean both "story" and "history"?
Yes! You can use historia to talk about the history of a country, or a fictional story you read in a book. You can usually tell which one it means from the context, just like in this sentence.
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