Mi perro es pequeño.

My dog is small.

Breakdown of Mi perro es pequeño.

• ser: to be
• pequeño: small
• mi: my
• el perro: the dog

Questions & Answers about Mi perro es pequeño.

Why is it 'mi' and not 'mis'?

Mi is the singular possessive adjective meaning my. We use mis when talking about more than one thing (e.g., mis perros for my dogs). Here, since there's only one dog, mi is needed.

Why say 'es' instead of 'está'?

In Spanish, es (from ser) is usually used for inherent characteristics that don’t change easily. Está (from estar) often indicates something temporary or a current state. Size is considered an inherent characteristic of the dog, so es is appropriate here.

Why does the adjective 'pequeño' end in -o?

Spanish adjectives typically end in -o when describing a masculine singular noun. Since perro is masculine and singular, pequeño must match it by ending in -o.

What if the dog is female?

If you’re talking about a female dog, you would say mi perra es pequeña, because perra is the feminine form of perro, and the adjective must also change to pequeña to agree with the feminine noun.

Where do I place adjectives in Spanish?