Spanish syntax

Spanish syntax
 

hello

many people, maybe erroneously, think language as a combination of vocabulary and grammar, and they almost neglect syntax

I rarely remember being taught syntax or buying a syntax book

most consider syntax as 'what preposition to choose' question, that may fall into grammar sections

however, recently I came across a phrase that made me think which are the spanish syntax issues that should be tricky

so, for example, syntax, among others means 'word order', and reading "tras 30 anos de nacimiento" made me believe there are too many one needs to learn in spanish and things that we consider straightforward are not (just contrast with english, where we say "30 years before birth")

I would like to ask, if it's correct to say these: (and if they have the same meaning):
"before 30 years from birth" - "tras 30 anos de nacimiento"
"30 years before birth" - "30 anos tras de nacimiento"
"30 years before birth" - "30 anos tras de nacimiento"

also, what other syntax issues are noteworthy and if there is a good reference/resource for these

thanks!

I would translate "tras 30 años de nacimiento" as "30 years after (the) birth". For "30 years before (the) birth" I would say "30 años antes de nacimiento." I know someone will quickly correct me if I'm mistaken:>))

yes, you are correct, I will correct it, I was meaning "after", the question was about the word order

@lingos: Spanish usually has a flexible syntax, but your first sentence with "tras" is the only right place for this preposition.


30 years after birth:

- tras treinta años del (de su) nacimiento/de nacido(a)
- treinta años después del (de su) nacimiento/de nacido(a)
- después de treinta años de nacido
- a treinta años del (de su) nacimiento/de nacido

Here's my take on this:

Tras 30 anos de nacimiento :good: = After 30 years of birth (the birth took 30 years)
30 anos tras de nacimiento :bad:

nice, but we say "tras 30 anos de nacimiento" and "30 anos antes de nacimiento", am I the only that think this is tricky? if I wouldn't have come across this in a reading, I wouldn't have known it, so I really need a good resource to learn about these fast and conveniently, and not by waiting to come across it or make a mistake and the others correct me