Breakdown of El espejo del baño está empañado hoy.
estar
to be
hoy
today
de
of
el baño
the bathroom
el espejo
the mirror
empañado
foggy
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Questions & Answers about El espejo del baño está empañado hoy.
What does empañado mean and how is it formed?
Empañado is the past participle of empañar, which means “to fog up” or “to steam up.” Here it functions as an adjective meaning “fogged up” or “steamed up.”
Why do we use está empañado instead of a reflexive form like se empaña?
Está empañado uses estar + past participle to describe a resulting state (the mirror is currently fogged). Se empaña would be the simple verb form focusing on the action or process of fogging up, not the ongoing state.
Why is estar used here instead of ser?
Spanish uses estar for temporary states and conditions. Since being fogged up is temporary, estar is correct. Ser would imply a permanent or defining quality.
Why is it del baño instead of de el baño?
In Spanish de + el always contracts to del. So de el baño becomes del baño in standard usage.
Why use el espejo instead of un espejo?
The definite article el indicates you’re talking about a specific mirror (the one in your bathroom). Un espejo would refer to any mirror, not that particular one.
Can hoy go in a different position in the sentence?
Yes. Spanish allows flexible adverb placement. You could say Hoy el espejo del baño está empañado or El espejo del baño hoy está empañado without changing the meaning.
Why is espejo masculine (el espejo)?
Most Spanish nouns ending in -o are masculine. Since espejo ends in -o, it takes the article el.
How do you pronounce empañado and what does the ñ represent?
Pronounce empañado as /em-pa-ÑA-do/. The ñ is a separate letter in Spanish, pronounced like ny in canyon.
Could I say El espejo del baño se empañó hoy instead?
Yes. El espejo del baño se empañó hoy uses the reflexive se and the preterite to emphasize the action (it fogged up today). It focuses on the event of fogging, whereas está empañado describes the current state.