Question 1

Why does the Spanish sentence use "dar" instead of "hacer" for "to make"?

Accepted Answer

In English, we say we "make" a good impression, but in Spanish, the natural expression is dar buena impresión (literally, "to give a good impression"). Translating this word-for-word as hacer buena impresión sounds unnatural to native speakers.

Question 2

Why isn't there a word for "a" before "buena impresión"?

Accepted Answer

You might expect to see una buena impresión, which is also grammatically correct. However, Spanish often drops the words un or una (a/an) in common phrases with verbs like dar or tener, even when we would always use "a" in English.

Question 3

Why does buena come before impresión? I thought adjectives go after nouns in Spanish.

Accepted Answer

Most descriptive adjectives do go after the noun. But bueno (and its feminine form buena) is often placed before the noun, especially when talking about a subjective quality or a standard expectation, like making a "good" impression.

Question 4

Why does it say en la entrevista for "at the interview" instead of using a?

Accepted Answer

While a translates to "at" when talking about movement or time (like arriving at a place or at a specific time), Spanish uses en to mean "in," "on," or "at" when you are physically located somewhere or participating in an event, like an interview.

Quiero dar buena impresión en la entrevista.

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