Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): La biblioteca está cerrada hoy, ¿verdad?

Because estar expresses a temporary state or condition, while ser (with es) indicates a more permanent characteristic. Since the library being closed is only for today, Spanish uses está.

Why is the adjective cerrada feminine, and not cerrado?

Spanish adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Biblioteca is feminine singular, so the past participle cerrada also takes the feminine singular form.

Is está cerrada a passive‐voice construction or just an adjective usage?

Here cerrada functions as an adjective describing the library’s current state, not as a true passive voice. The pattern estar + past participle often conveys a resultant condition.

Can I place hoy at the beginning of the sentence instead of at the end?

Yes. You can say Hoy la biblioteca está cerrada or La biblioteca está cerrada hoy. Spanish adverbs of time like hoy are flexible in their position without changing the meaning.

What does ¿verdad? mean, and how do I use it?

¿Verdad? is a tag question equivalent to English “right?” or “isn’t that so?” It’s added at the end of a statement to ask for confirmation or agreement.

Why is there a comma before ¿verdad?, and why isn’t the whole sentence in question marks?

Only the tag ¿verdad? is interrogative. The main clause is a declaration, so you separate it with a comma and enclose just the tag in ¿…?.

Can I replace ¿verdad? with ¿no? or ¿no es cierto??

Absolutely. ¿No? is a shorter, more casual tag (like “right?”), while ¿no es cierto? (“isn’t it true?”) is a bit more formal. All work to seek confirmation.

Could I say La biblioteca cierra hoy to express the same idea?

Not exactly. La biblioteca cierra hoy means “the library closes today” (i.e. will shut down at some point). It doesn’t imply it remains closed all day. To say it’s closed for the day, use está cerrada hoy.