Breakdown of La catedral está a quinientos metros del hotel.
estar
to be
del
from the
el hotel
the hotel
a
away
Questions & Answers about La catedral está a quinientos metros del hotel.
Why is it está and not es?
Spanish uses estar for location, so La catedral está... is the normal way to say where something is.
- ser = identity, what something is
- estar = location, state, condition
So:
- La catedral es famosa = the cathedral is famous
- La catedral está en el centro = the cathedral is in the city centre
In this sentence, the cathedral’s location is being described, so está is correct.
What does a mean in está a quinientos metros?
Here, a is used in Spanish to express distance from a point.
So the pattern is:
- estar a + distance + de = to be at a distance of ... from
Examples:
This a does not literally mean just one English word in every case; it is simply part of the Spanish structure for giving distance.
Why is it del hotel and not de el hotel?