Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): La luz está encendida.

In Spanish, ser expresses inherent or permanent characteristics, while estar denotes temporary states or conditions. Since a light being on is a temporary condition, we use está (from estar) rather than es (from ser).

Why is encendida used here instead of encendido?

Encendida is the past participle of encender used as an adjective describing the light’s state. It must agree in gender and number with luz, which is feminine singular, so we use encendida rather than the masculine form encendido.

Could we use encendiendo instead of encendida?

No. Encendiendo is the present participle (gerund) meaning “turning on,” used for ongoing actions (e.g., Estoy encendiendo la luz = “I’m turning on the light”). To describe the resulting state (“the light is on”), Spanish uses the past participle encendida as an adjective.

What does encendida literally mean?

Literally, encendida is the past participle of encender (“to turn on” or “to light”). When used adjectivally, it means “lit,” “switched on,” or “on.”

Why is the article used before ?