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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/.
- bos- as in English “boss” but shorter.
- -que makes a /ke/ sound (like “k” + “e”).
The stress falls on the first syllable: BOS-que.