Mi madre es realista: sabe que aprender un idioma lleva tiempo.

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Breakdown of Mi madre es realista: sabe que aprender un idioma lleva tiempo.

• ser: to be
• mi: my
• que: that

Questions & Answers about Mi madre es realista: sabe que aprender un idioma lleva tiempo.

Why is it es realista and not está realista?

Because realista describes a more permanent quality or outlook, not a temporary state.

• ser + adjective is used for characteristics: es realista = she is realistic / a realist
• estar + adjective is usually for states or conditions: está cansada, está contenta

So here, the sentence is talking about the mother’s general way of thinking, which is why es is correct.

What does realista mean here?

Here, realista means realistic or a realist.

In this sentence, it means the mother sees things as they really are and does not expect learning a language to happen quickly.

A useful detail: realista has the same form for masculine and feminine.

• Mi padre es realista
• Mi madre es realista

Why is there a colon after realista?