El pan está seco.

to be

Breakdown of El pan está seco.

• el pan: the bread
• seco: dry

Questions & Answers about El pan está seco.

Why is it está and not es?

Because estar describes states or conditions that can change. Dryness here is a condition of the bread right now. El pan está seco = the bread is dry at this moment. Using ser (as in El pan es seco) would describe an inherent or typical quality (e.g., a type of bread that is characteristically dry), which is not what’s usually meant.

Can I ever say El pan es seco?

Yes, but only to talk about a general or inherent quality, not the current condition. Examples:

• El pan de ese lugar es seco. (That bakery’s bread is generally dry.)
• Este tipo de pan es seco. (This type of bread is characteristically dry.) In everyday complaints about today’s bread, use está.

What does the accent in está do? What happens if I omit it?

The accent marks the stressed syllable and distinguishes it from esta (this, feminine).

• está = is (he/she/it)
• esta = this (feminine adjective), as in esta casa
  So El pan esta seco is a spelling error; it must be está.

How does seco agree with the noun?