río grande
/rio ɡɾande/from spelling rules
The English phrase "big river" is translated into Spanish as río grande.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase río grande, the adjective grande follows the noun río. To make the phrase plural, both the noun and the adjective must take the plural form: ríos grandes.
Did you know?
- The word río is also the first-person singular present indicative form of the verb 'reír', meaning 'I laugh'.
- While río grande means 'big river', placing the adjective first as grande río changes the tone to be poetic or literary, often used to describe a river of great importance or majesty.
- The word río comes from the Latin rīvus, which originally meant a 'brook' or 'small stream'. Over time, the meaning shifted from describing small waterways to including the largest rivers in the world.
Examples in context
- El Amazonas es un gran río que atraviesa varios países de América del Sur.The Amazon is a big river that crosses several countries in South America.
- El Nilo es un río grande que desemboca en el Mar Mediterráneo.The Nile is a big river that flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
- ¡El río Mississippi es enorme! Es uno de los ríos más largos y caudalosos del mundo.The Mississippi river is enormous! It is one of the longest and most voluminous rivers in the world.
- Vi un río gigante en el documental sobre la selva amazónica.I saw a giant river in the documentary about the Amazon rainforest.
- Hay un río grande cerca del pueblo.There is a big river near the town.
- El río grande cruza todo el valle.The big river crosses the whole valley.
- Nadamos en el río grande ayer.We swam in the big river yesterday.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía are looking at a map of the region.
- Alejandro¿Ves este río grande en el mapa?Do you see this big river on the map?
- SofíaSí, Alejandro, es muy impresionante.Yes, Alejandro, it is very impressive.
- AlejandroPodemos navegar por el río grande.We can navigate through the big river.
- SofíaMe parece una idea excelente, Sofía.That sounds like an excellent idea, Sofía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries grande, río, CC BY-SA 4.0.
