El gato está gordo.

Spanish uses two main verbs for to be: ser and estar.

In El gato está gordo, estar is used because gordo is being treated as a state or condition of the cat. In beginner Spanish, a very common rule is:

• ser = more permanent characteristics
• estar = states, conditions, how something is at the moment

So está gordo suggests the cat is fat / overweight as a condition, rather than defining what the cat is in an essential way.

That said, in real Spanish, es gordo can also be heard, and it can sound more like a general characteristic. But learners are usually taught estar + adjective for physical condition here.

El is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

So:

• el gato = the cat

In Spanish, you usually do need an article before a noun in cases like this. Saying just Gato está gordo would sound incomplete or unnatural in normal Spanish.

Because gato is a masculine singular noun, the adjective must match it.

This is called agreement.

• el gato → masculine singular
• gordo → masculine singular adjective form

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would change too:

• la gata está gorda

Yes. That would be the feminine version.

The pattern is:

• el gato está gordo = masculine singular
• la gata está gorda = feminine singular

So both the article and the adjective change to match the gender of the noun.

Yes, you may hear that, but it changes the feel a bit.

A simple learner-friendly way to think about it is:

• está gordo = the cat is fat / currently in that condition
• es gordo = the cat is a fat cat by nature or as a more defining trait

In many real-life situations, native speakers may use both depending on what they want to emphasize. But if you are learning the basic contrast between ser and estar, está gordo is a very standard sentence.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

In English, you say It is fat or The cat is fat.
In Spanish, once you say El gato, there is no need to add a pronoun.

Spanish verbs already give information about the subject, and the noun el gato is already there, so adding it would be unnecessary.

The accent mark in está shows where the stress goes:

• es-TÁ

It also helps distinguish it from esta, which can be a demonstrative word meaning this in some contexts.

So the accent is both a spelling and pronunciation clue.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• el → like ell
• gato → GA-to
• está → es-TA
• gordo → GOR-do

In standard Peninsular Spanish:

• the g in gato and gordo is a hard g, like in go
• the r in gordo is a light tap, not a strong English r
• the stress is on GA in gato, TA in está, and GOR in gordo

A rough overall guide: el GA-to es-TA GOR-do

The normal word order is:

• El gato está gordo

That is the most neutral and natural version.

Spanish can change word order for emphasis, but not every change sounds equally natural in every context. For example:

• Está gordo el gato can be possible in a context where you are emphasizing the cat
• but for a basic statement, El gato está gordo is the best choice

So as a learner, it is safest to keep the standard order: article + noun + verb + adjective

It can depend on context.

Gordo often means fat or overweight, but sometimes in English a softer translation like chubby may fit better, depending on tone and situation.

Be aware that gordo/gorda can sound quite direct. Spanish often uses it more straightforwardly than English uses fat, but it can still be sensitive depending on who you are talking about.

You would say:

El gato está muy gordo.

Here, muy means very and goes before the adjective:

• muy gordo = very fat

This is a very common pattern in Spanish:

• está muy cansado = is very tired
• está muy alto = is very tall
• está muy gordo = is very fat