Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): El té está muy caliente.

We use está to describe a temporary condition or state, such as temperature. If we said El té es muy caliente, it could suggest that the tea is always inherently hot, which sounds odd. With está, we emphasize that the tea happens to be hot at this moment.

What is the difference between muy and mucho?

Muy generally works like "very" in English and intensifies adjectives or adverbs (e.g., muy caliente – very hot). Mucho means "a lot" or "much" and often modifies nouns or indicates quantity (e.g., mucho té – a lot of tea).

How is the accent on té used differently from te (without the accent)?

With the accent (té), it’s the noun "tea." Without the accent (te), it is a pronoun meaning "you" (used as a direct or indirect object). So, El té está muy caliente is "The tea is very hot," whereas Te lo doy means "I give it to you."

Is there any difference in how we say "The tea is hot" in a more general sense compared to right now?

Yes. To sound more general, you might hear El té suele ser caliente ("Tea tends to be hot") or El té es caliente to talk about a general characteristic of tea as a beverage. El té está muy caliente is focused on this particular tea’s current state.

How can I pronounce El té está muy caliente more naturally?

Make sure to link words smoothly when saying them. Spanish is syllable-timed, so keep an even rhythm: • El: Pronounced like "el". • té: Pronounced as "teh", with a crisp "t". • está: The e is short and the stress is on -tá. • muy: Similar to English "mwee" but shorter; think "muee" in a single syllable. • caliente: "ca-LEE-en-te," with the stress on -en-.