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El trabajo manual era tan importante como la máquina.

El trabajo manual era tan importante como la máquina.
The manual work was as important as the machine.
From Lesson 147:Past habits with the imperfect·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about El trabajo manual era tan importante como la máquina.

Why does this sentence use era instead of fue?
The word era is the imperfect tense of ser (to be). We use the imperfect here to describe a continuous state or how things used to be over an extended period in the past. If we used the preterite fue, it would sound like the work was only important for one specific, completed event.
How does the comparison tan... como work here?
The structure tan [adjective] como is the Spanish way to express as [adjective] as. By placing the adjective importante between them, it translates to as important as.
Could I use tanto instead of tan in this sentence?
No, because importante is an adjective. You must use tan (as) before adjectives and adverbs. You only use tanto or tanta (as much) when you are talking about nouns, such as if you wanted to say as much work as.
Why is the word order trabajo manual and not manual trabajo?
In Spanish, descriptive adjectives that tell you exactly what type of thing a noun is usually come right after the noun. So manual work becomes work manual (trabajo manual).

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