Questions & Answers about Esa botella está en la mesa.
esa is a demonstrative adjective meaning “that” (feminine, singular). Demonstrative adjectives in Spanish agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. There are three proximity levels:
- este / esta – “this” (near the speaker)
- ese / esa – “that” (near the listener or at a medium distance)
- aquel / aquella – “that over there” (far from both speaker and listener)
Spanish uses ser and estar for different concepts:
- ser describes inherent or permanent traits (e.g. “Ella es alta.”)
- estar describes temporary states, conditions, emotions, or location (e.g. “La silla está rota,” “Estoy cansado,” “El libro está en la mesa.”)
Because we’re talking about location, we use estar → está en la mesa.
- en can translate as “in,” “on,” or “at,” depending on context.
- sobre and encima de specifically mean “on top of.”
All three are grammatically correct:
- La botella está en la mesa. (idiomatic, very common)
- La botella está sobre la mesa. (more formal)
- La botella está encima de la mesa. (emphasizes “on top”)
In Spanish, you normally include the definite article before a noun when specifying location or referring to a specific object:
- Correct: Está en la mesa.
- Incorrect: Está en mesa.
Also, mesa is a feminine noun, so you use la (singular feminine definite article).
Yes, inversion is possible but changes the emphasis or style:
- Standard: Esa botella está en la mesa. (neutral statement)
- Inverted: Está esa botella en la mesa. (more poetic, rhetorical, or used in questions for surprise)
Spanish defaults to Subject–Verb–(Complement), so the standard word order is most common.
- b in Spanish is softer than English “b” when it appears between vowels—it sounds a bit like a cross between “b” and “v.”
- ll in most of Spain sounds like the English “y” in “yes.”
So botella is pronounced roughly bo-te-‘ya (IPA: /boˈteʝa/).