Word
La màquina està lliure.
Meaning
The machine is free.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
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Questions & Answers about La màquina està lliure.
What does each word do in La màquina està lliure?
- La = the (feminine singular definite article)
- màquina = machine
- està = is from the verb estar
- lliure = free, available, or unoccupied depending on context
So the structure is:
article + noun + verb + adjective
That is a very normal Catalan sentence pattern.
Why is it està and not és?
Because Catalan usually uses estar for a current state or condition, and ser for identity, classification, or more inherent characteristics.
Here, lliure means the machine is free/available right now, so estar is the natural choice:
- La màquina està lliure = the machine is currently free
If you used és, it would sound unnatural in this context, or it could suggest a more abstract or permanent idea.
Why is there a la? Could Catalan leave out the article?