La calle es larga.

to be

Breakdown of La calle es larga.

• la calle: the street
• largo: long

Questions & Answers about La calle es larga.

Why is the word calle considered feminine in Spanish?

In Spanish, each noun has a grammatical gender—either masculine or feminine. The noun calle is classified as feminine, so you use the feminine article la and the feminine adjective form larga.

Why do we use es instead of está in this sentence?

Es comes from the verb ser, which describes essential or permanent characteristics. Saying La calle es larga focuses on the inherent trait of the street being long. Está (from estar) is used more for temporary states or locations.

Why does the adjective larga come after calle?

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives generally follow the noun they modify. So we say la calle larga or la calle es larga rather than la larga calle. Putting the adjective after the noun is the most common pattern for describing inherent traits.

Why do we use larga instead of largo here?

Because calle is a feminine noun, the adjective largo must also match in gender. That’s why it becomes larga, making la calle larga a correct gender agreement in Spanish.

How do we pronounce calle correctly in Latin American Spanish?

In most Latin American Spanish dialects, the double ll in calle is pronounced like the English y sound in yes, so it would sound like kah-yeh.