Breakdown of El libro dorado es interesante.
ser
to be
el libro
the book
interesante
interesting
dorado
golden
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Questions & Answers about El libro dorado es interesante.
Why is the article el used here and not la?
Spanish nouns have grammatical gender. Libro is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine singular definite article el. If the noun were feminine (for example casa), you’d use la.
How do I know that libro is masculine?
Most Spanish nouns ending in -o are masculine, and most ending in -a are feminine. There are exceptions, but libro follows the regular pattern, so it’s masculine.
Why does the adjective dorado come after libro instead of before?
In Spanish, descriptive adjectives generally follow the noun. Putting dorado after libro emphasizes it as a quality of the book. Placing an adjective before the noun can add stylistic nuance or poetic effect, but the standard order is noun + adjective.
Could I say el dorado libro?
That word order sounds unnatural in everyday Spanish. While you might see an adjective before a noun in poetry or very formal writing, the neutral, correct order is el libro dorado.
Why is dorado ending in -o? Does it change?
Adjectives must agree with the noun’s gender and number. Since libro is masculine singular, dorado takes the masculine singular ending -o. For a feminine singular noun you’d say dorada, and for plural you’d use dorados or doradas.
Why is interesante not interesanto?
Adjectives ending in -nte are invariable for gender; they only change in number. So interesante works for both masculine and feminine singular. The plural would be interesantes.
Why is es used instead of está?
Spanish has two verbs for “to be.” Use ser (here es) for inherent or defining qualities, such as a book being interesting. You’d use estar for temporary states or locations. Saying el libro está interesante would sound off, as “interesting” is viewed as a characteristic, not a temporary mood.
How would I make the sentence plural?
Pluralize both the article, noun, adjective, and the verb:
Los libros dorados son interesantes.
Here el → los, libro → libros, dorado → dorados, es → son, and interesante → interesantes.