La tienda está a la derecha de la biblioteca.

to be

Breakdown of La tienda está a la derecha de la biblioteca.

• de: of
• la tienda: the store
• la biblioteca: the library

Questions & Answers about La tienda está a la derecha de la biblioteca.

Why do we use está instead of es here?

In Spanish, estar is used for locations and temporary states, while ser (with es) describes inherent characteristics. Since the sentence tells you where the store is, you use está (the third‐person singular of estar) rather than es.

What does a la derecha de literally mean?

a la derecha de is a prepositional phrase that literally translates to “to the right of.” Here’s the breakdown:

• a = “to” or “at”
• la derecha = “the right” (dirección right)
• de = “of”

So a la derecha de la biblioteca = “to the right of the library.”

Why is it a la derecha de la biblioteca and not al derecha del biblioteca?

Two things to watch:

1. a + el contracts to al, but we have la (feminine), so a + la stays separate.
2. biblioteca is feminine (la biblioteca), so you must use la, not el.
   Thus you get a la derecha de la biblioteca, not al derecha del biblioteca.