Estoy enfermo desde el lunes.

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Breakdown of Estoy enfermo desde el lunes.

• estar: to be
• el lunes: the Monday
• enfermo: sick
• desde: since

Questions & Answers about Estoy enfermo desde el lunes.

Why do we say estoy enfermo instead of soy enfermo?

In Spanish, estar is generally used for temporary conditions or states, such as being sick, tired, or busy. Ser is used for permanent or more lasting traits, like nationality or inherent characteristics. Since sickness is (usually) a temporary condition, we say estoy enfermo rather than soy enfermo.

Is lunes capitalized in Spanish?

In Spanish, days of the week are not capitalized unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence or as part of a title. So, lunes is written in lowercase in desde el lunes.

Why do we need the article el in desde el lunes?

The article el is used before the day of the week to specify a particular Monday. In many Spanish constructions, including time expressions, the article is common. So “since Monday” naturally becomes desde el lunes rather than desde lunes.

Could I say he estado enfermo desde el lunes instead?

Yes, you can. He estado enfermo desde el lunes means “I have been sick since Monday,” similar to English. Estoy enfermo desde el lunes is also correct, but it uses a more direct present tense to emphasize your current state of being sick.

What if I want to say “I have been sick for three days” in Spanish?

You could use llevo tres días enfermo or estoy enfermo desde hace tres días. Both structures convey the duration of your sickness. For instance:
• Llevo tres días enfermo (literally, “I’ve been sick for three days”)
• Estoy enfermo desde hace tres días (literally, “I am sick since three days ago”)