Spanish language Q&A Forum

The

In the question"Pablo doesn't like surprise parties" isn't "surprise" an adjective and so the translation would be "Pablo no le gustan las fiestas sorpresas (in the plural).   I know this is not related to the lesson but ...

The lesson is clear that "bueno" in front of a noun means "great," but simply "good" if after the noun.  So the instruction is that this girl simply wants a good man.  But the "correct" choice is "un buen hombre"!

I know that the rule is to use sino que when there is a different conjugated verb in the second clause after sino.  If it is the same verb, we don't need to use it at all: Juan no bebía vino sino ron.   But what if we decide to include the verb?  Then do we use sino que (even though it is not a different verb?). Juan no bebía vino sino que ron.

I would appreciate your help on this one.

"Tú ________ el primero de la lista." (You are the first on the list.)

I made a mistake on this one by using estar. My reasoning is it referred to a location (the first position on the list). It appears the answer you're looking for is to use ser, and that the recommendation is to treat the list and its contents as descriptive. 

Would this change if I said "You are the first in line?" Or should I still use the ser verb? Is it a description of a trait of the line, or is it a position that is relative?

Are these types of cases subjective? Or is it pretty common for everyone to use the same verb?