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Questions & Answers about El pie es pequeño.
Why is el used before pie instead of la?
In Spanish every noun has a gender. Pie (meaning “foot”) is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine singular definite article el. If it were feminine, you’d use la.
Why do we use es (from ser) here instead of está (from estar)?
We use ser for inherent or permanent characteristics—like size. Since being small is seen as a quality of the foot, we say es pequeño. Estar would be used for temporary states or locations.
Why does the adjective pequeño come after the noun? Can it ever go before?
The default order in Spanish is noun + adjective for straightforward descriptions, so pie pequeño. Placing pequeño before (pequeño pie) is poetic or stylistic and can add emphasis or a special nuance, but it’s not the neutral order.
How would you turn the sentence into the plural form?
Make the article and noun plural and change the verb accordingly:
Los pies son pequeños.
Is there any risk of confusing pie (foot) with the English dessert “pie”?
No. In Spanish pie exclusively means “foot.” For a baked dessert you’d use pastel, tarta or empanada, depending on the pastry.
How do you pronounce pie and pequeño?
- pie is pronounced /pje/ (like “pyeh”).
- pequeño is /pe-KEH-nyo/ (the ñ is like the “ny” in “canyon”).