Breakdown of Una vecina mía acaba de construir la valla.
un
a, an, some
el vecino
the neighbor
acabar
to finish (or to have just + infinitive)
de
linking word before an infinitive (after 'to have just')
mío
mine / of mine
construir
to build
la valla
the fence
Questions & Answers about Una vecina mía acaba de construir la valla.
Why is it Una vecina mía instead of Mi vecina?
Why do we use mía here instead of mío?
The stressed possessive adjective must match the noun it describes in both gender and number. Since vecina (neighbor) is a feminine singular noun, the possessive must be the feminine singular form, mía. If it were a male neighbor, you would say un vecino mío.
Could I say 'una mi vecina' to mean 'a neighbor of mine'?
No, Spanish does not allow you to mix articles (like una or el) with short possessives (like mi or tu) before a noun. If you start with an article like una, you must put the long-form possessive (mío, mía, etc.) after the noun instead.
How does acaba de mean 'has just'? Doesn't acabar mean 'to finish'?
Yes, acabar on its own means 'to finish'. But when you use the formula acabar de plus an infinitive verb (like construir), it creates a special phrase meaning 'to have just done something'. You use the present tense of acabar to show the action just wrapped up.
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