Estos perros son muy pequeños.

These dogs are very small.

Breakdown of Estos perros son muy pequeños.

• ser: to be
• pequeño: small
• muy: very
• el perro: the dog

Questions & Answers about Estos perros son muy pequeños.

Why do we use son instead of están?

In Spanish, ser (conjugation son) describes inherent or defining characteristics, like size in this case. Estar focuses more on temporary states or locations, so we say Estos perros son muy pequeños to emphasize a permanent characteristic (their size).

Why is estos used instead of esos?

Estos points to things that are close to the speaker, while esos would refer to things that are slightly farther away. If the dogs are right here with you, you'd use estos to show they are near you.

Why do we say perros and not perras here?

Perros is the masculine plural form for dogs. This can refer to a group of male dogs or a mixed group of males and females. Perras is the feminine plural form, used only if all the dogs are female.

What does muy mean in this sentence?

Muy means very in English. It is used to intensify an adjective or an adverb. Here, muy intensifies pequeños to indicate they are very small.

Why is pequeños in the plural and masculine form?