Log inSign up

El bosque está protegido.

El bosque está protegido.
The forest is protected.
FromLesson 30inHardcore Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of El bosque está protegido.

estar
to be
el bosque
the forest
protegido
protected

Questions & Answers about El bosque está protegido.

Why use está instead of es in El bosque está protegido?
We use está, the present indicative of estar, to express a state or condition (the forest is in the condition of being protected). If you said El bosque es protegido, you’d be using a true passive with ser, focusing on the action (“the forest is protected by someone”), whereas estar + participle highlights the resulting state.
Why is there an accent mark on está?
Because está (3rd-person singular of estar) needs an accent to distinguish it from esta (the feminine demonstrative adjective meaning this). Without the accent, the reader might think you mean this forest instead of the forest is.
Is protegido a verb form or an adjective here?
It’s the past participle of proteger, but in this sentence it functions as an adjective describing the forest’s state. Spanish often uses past participles as adjectives with estar to indicate how something is after an action.
How would I mention who did the protecting (the agent)?

Add por + agent after the participle. For example:
• El bosque está protegido por el gobierno.
• El bosque está protegido por guardaparques voluntarios.

Could I say El bosque fue protegido instead?
Yes. El bosque fue protegido por el gobierno uses the preterite passive with ser, meaning “the forest was protected” at a specific time in the past. In contrast, está protegido focuses on its current state of protection.
How do I express “the forest is being protected (right now)”?

Use the progressive passive:
El bosque está siendo protegido por [agent].
This emphasizes an ongoing action rather than just the resulting state.

How would I say the protected forests or the protected area?

Adjectives must agree in gender and number:
• Los bosques están protegidos (masculine plural).
• La zona está protegida (feminine singular).

How is bosque pronounced and where is the stress?

Bosque is pronounced /ˈbos.ke/.

AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“How does verb conjugation work in Spanish?”
Spanish verbs change form based on the subject, tense, and mood. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns depending on whether they end in ‑ar, ‑er, or ‑ir. For example, "hablar" (to speak) becomes "hablo" (I speak), "hablas" (you speak), and "habla" (he/she speaks) in the present tense.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Spanish

Master Spanish — from El bosque está protegido to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Spanish freeBrowse the full course