Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Este bosque es muy pacífico.

In Este bosque es muy pacífico, este is used because the forest is understood as close to the speaker (physically, or in focus in the conversation).

If the forest were farther away, you might hear:

Ese bosque es muy pacífico. – That forest is very peaceful.
Aquel bosque es muy pacífico. – That forest (way over there) is very peaceful.

All three agree in gender and number with bosque (masculine, singular): este bosque, ese bosque, aquel bosque.

Why is bosque masculine? It ends in -e, so how do I know?

Spanish noun gender is partly predictable, but many nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine, and you usually have to memorize them.

el bosque – masculine (the forest)
other masculine -e nouns: el parque (park), el puente (bridge)
some feminine -e nouns: la calle (street), la noche (night)

Because bosque is masculine, you need masculine forms:

este bosque (this forest)
un bosque (a forest)
bosque pacífico (peaceful forest; masculine adjective form)

Why is it es and not está in es muy pacífico?

Ser (es) and estar (está) both mean “to be,” but they’re used differently.

ser is used for more permanent characteristics or inherent qualities
estar is used for temporary states, conditions, or locations

In Este bosque es muy pacífico, peace is being presented as a general, defining characteristic of the forest, so ser is used.

If you used estar, it would sound more like a temporary situation:

Este bosque está muy pacífico hoy. – This forest is very peaceful today. (right now; maybe it’s not always this way)

Why is it muy and not mucho?

Muy and mucho both relate to “a lot/very,” but they’re used differently:

muy goes before adjectives and adverbs
- muy pacífico – very peaceful
- muy grande – very big
- muy lentamente – very slowly
mucho goes with nouns and sometimes verbs
- mucho ruido – a lot of noise
- muchos bosques – many forests
- Llueve mucho. – It rains a lot.

Since pacífico is an adjective, you need muy pacífico, not mucho pacífico.

Why does pacífico end in -o and not -a?

Adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

bosque is masculine singular
the adjective must also be masculine singular → pacífico

So you get:

Este bosque es muy pacífico. – masculine singular
Esta selva es muy pacífica. – feminine singular (selva, “jungle,” is feminine)

For plural:

Estos bosques son muy pacíficos. – masculine plural
Estas selvas son muy pacíficas. – feminine plural

What is the accent mark doing in pacífico?

The accent mark (´) in pacífico shows where the stress goes.

Without thinking about rules, you might guess pa-CI-fi-co or PA-ci-fi-co. Spanish spelling rules say:

Words ending in vowel, -n, or -s are normally stressed on the second-to-last syllable.
pacífico ends in a vowel (o), so by default you’d stress FI: pa-CI-fi-co.
That’s actually correct, but because of the extra syllable pattern, Spanish writes the accent on í to make the stress clear: pa-CI-fi-co.

So you pronounce it: pa-CI-fi-co (stress on “cí”), not PA-ci-fi-co or pa-ci-FI-co.

How do you pronounce bosque and pacífico?

Approximate pronunciations (using English-like spelling):

bosque → “BOS-keh”
- b like English “b”
- os like “oss”
- que is pronounced keh (the u in que is silent)
pacífico → “pa-SEE-fi-ko”
- stress on SEE (the cí syllable)
- pa like “pa” in “papa”
- fi like “fee”
- co like “ko” in “cocoa”

Syllable breakdown:

bosque: BOS-que
pacífico: pa-CI-fi-co (with the stress on CI)

Could I say El bosque es muy pacífico instead of Este bosque es muy pacífico?

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly:

Este bosque es muy pacífico.
– This forest is very peaceful. (a specific forest near me or in focus)
El bosque es muy pacífico.
– The forest is very peaceful. (either a specific one already known, or forests in general, depending on context)

Este points to a specific forest (“this one”), while el just says “the forest” without that demonstrative idea of “this/that”.

Can the word order change, like Este muy pacífico bosque?

Spanish word order is fairly flexible, but some orders are much more natural.

Predicate adjective after “ser” (what we have):
- Este bosque es muy pacífico. – This forest is very peaceful.
  This is the normal, neutral way.
Adjective before noun:
- Este muy pacífico bosque – “this very peaceful forest”
  This is possible, but it sounds a bit literary or poetic. Everyday speech prefers:
- Este bosque tan pacífico or este bosque tan tranquilo if you want similar emphasis.
Este bosque muy pacífico es is not natural Spanish. The verb es must stay between the subject (este bosque) and the predicate (muy pacífico) in standard sentences.

How would I say it in the plural: “These forests are very peaceful”?

You need to make the demonstrative, noun, verb, and adjective all plural:

Estos bosques son muy pacíficos.

Breakdown:

este → estos (masculine plural “these”)
bosque → bosques (add -s)
es → son (third-person plural of ser)
pacífico → pacíficos (masculine plural adjective)

Is there a difference between pacífico and tranquilo here?

Both can often be translated as “peaceful,” but there’s a nuance:

pacífico:
- linked more directly to peace, lack of conflict or aggression
- “non-violent,” “peace-loving,” or “calm/peaceful” in a more formal tone
tranquilo:
- “calm,” “quiet,” “relaxed,” “chill”
- focuses more on the atmosphere (little noise, no stress)

For a forest, both work:

Este bosque es muy pacífico. – Feels a bit more formal, like “very peaceful, without disturbance or conflict.”
Este bosque es muy tranquilo. – “This forest is very quiet/calm,” focusing more on silence and serenity.

Could Pacífico also mean the “Pacific” (like the ocean)? Why isn’t it capitalized here?

Yes. Pacífico (capitalized) can be a proper name:

el océano Pacífico – the Pacific Ocean
la costa del Pacífico – the Pacific coast

In your sentence, pacífico is just a regular adjective (“peaceful”), not a name, so it’s not capitalized:

Este bosque es muy pacífico. – “peaceful,” common adjective
El océano Pacífico es muy grande. – “Pacific,” proper name, capitalized

I’ve seen éste with an accent. Why don’t we write éste bosque?

Historically, este/ese/aquel had accented versions (éste, ése, aquél) when used as pronouns (“this one,” “that one”) rather than adjectives.

Este bosque es muy pacífico. – adjective (modifies bosque), no accent
Éste es muy pacífico. – pronoun (“this one is very peaceful”), older style with accent

Modern recommendation of the Spanish Royal Academy (RAE):

Don’t use the accent anymore unless it’s absolutely needed to avoid ambiguity.
So you’ll mostly see este, ese, aquel without accents now.

In your sentence, este is clearly an adjective before a noun (bosque), so it never takes an accent.