La silla es de madera.

The chair is made of wood.

Breakdown of La silla es de madera.

• ser: to be
• la silla: the chair
• de: of
• la madera: the wood

Questions & Answers about La silla es de madera.

Why do we use es (from ser) instead of está (from estar) in this sentence?

In Spanish, ser describes inherent, permanent or defining characteristics—like what something is made of—while estar describes temporary states or locations. Because the material of the chair is an essential property, we say La silla es de madera, not está.

What is the function of de in de madera? Could I use con instead?

Here de indicates composition (“made of”).

• ser de + material = “to be made of [material]”
  You could use con (“with”) to describe something that has wood as part of it (e.g. una mesa con patas de madera = “a table with wooden legs”), but con does not express full composition the way de does.

Why don’t we put an article before madera? Why not de la madera?

When stating the material in a general sense, Spanish omits the article.

• una silla de madera = “a wooden chair”
  If you said de la madera, you’d be referring to a specific wood (“of the wood”) rather than material in general.

Can I say La silla es madera without de? Is that correct?

Native speakers sometimes say es madera, but it’s less idiomatic. The normal and clearest way to express composition is ser de + material. Omitting de can sound informal or vague.

Why is the article la used before silla? Could it be una instead of la?

la is the definite article (“the chair”), implying a specific or context-known chair.

• una silla = “a chair” (indefinite)
• la silla = “the chair” (definite)

How would you say “this is a wooden chair” if you want to use una?

You can say:
• Es una silla de madera.
• Esta es una silla de madera.
Both follow the pattern ser + article + noun + de + material.

What about using hecha de? For example, “La silla está hecha de madera”—is that the same?

Yes. estar hecho/a de also indicates material and emphasizes the making process:

• La silla está hecha de madera. (“The chair is made of wood.”)
  Note that hecha agrees in gender with silla.

Is madera considered a countable or uncountable noun in Spanish? Could I say dos maderas?

madera is generally uncountable, like “wood” in English. You wouldn’t normally say dos maderas unless you mean two types of wood or two distinct wooden planks. To count pieces, you’d specify: dos tablas de madera or dos piezas de madera.