La situación no es fácil.

to be

Breakdown of La situación no es fácil.

• fácil: easy
• la situación: the situation

Questions & Answers about La situación no es fácil.

Why is it la situación instead of el situación?

In Spanish, nouns ending in -ción are almost always feminine, so we use the feminine article la. Therefore, it’s la situación, not el situación.

Why do we use es instead of está in La situación no es fácil?

We typically use ser (es) for qualities or characteristics seen as inherent or permanent. Estar (está) is generally for temporary states or locations. Here, we’re describing the situation’s inherent level of difficulty, so es is appropriate.

Why do we say no es to make it negative, and not something like no está or sin es?

In Spanish, to negate a verb, we simply put no before the verb. “No está” would mean “it’s not (in a certain state),” while “sin es” doesn’t make sense in Spanish. So the correct negation for es is simply no es.

Why does fácil have an accent mark?

In Spanish, fácil is a two-syllable word where the stress is on the first syllable (FA-cil). According to Spanish accent rules, if the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable (and the word ends in a consonant other than n or s), it needs a written accent. Hence, fácil.

Can fácil also mean simple, or is there a difference?

They can sometimes overlap, but fácil often means “not difficult,” focusing on effort. Simple can also mean straightforward or uncomplicated in structure. While they’re similar, fácil is more about ease or difficulty, and simple can refer more to simplicity of design or concept.