El gato está delgado.

In Spanish, it is very common to use the definite article with nouns when talking about a specific thing or animal. El gato means the cat.

If you said just gato, it would usually sound incomplete by itself in a normal sentence. You would more often use:

• El gato = the cat
• Un gato = a cat

So El gato está delgado means The cat is thin.

Spanish has two verbs that both mean to be: ser and estar.

Here, estar is used because delgado is describing the cat’s current physical condition or state, not defining what kind of thing it is.

So:

• El gato está delgado = The cat is thin / The cat looks thin / The cat has become thin

This often suggests a temporary state, a recent change, or an observed condition.

By contrast:

• El gato es delgado would suggest that being thin is more of a general characteristic of the cat.

Both can be possible in some contexts, but está delgado is very natural when noticing that the cat is thin, perhaps thinner than before.

Está is the third-person singular present tense form of estar.

The present tense forms are:

• yo estoy = I am
• tú estás = you are
• él / ella / usted está = he / she / you are

Since el gato is singular and works like it/he, Spanish uses está.

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:

• esta casa = this house

So the accent is important for both pronunciation and spelling.

Adjectives in Spanish usually agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

Gato is a masculine singular noun, so the adjective must also be masculine singular:

• gato delgado = thin male cat / thin cat
• gata delgada = thin female cat

If the cat were female, the sentence would be:

• La gata está delgada.

Usually, delgado means thin or slim when talking about people or animals.

Depending on context, it can sometimes sound:

• neutral: thin
• positive: slim
• negative or worrying: too thin

In El gato está delgado, the exact feeling depends on context. It might simply describe the cat’s appearance, or it might imply concern that the cat has lost weight.

Yes. Spanish uses articles with animals just as it does with people or objects.

So these are all normal:

• El perro duerme. = The dog is sleeping.
• El gato está delgado. = The cat is thin.
• La vaca come. = The cow eats / is eating.

Using el here is completely natural.

The normal, neutral order is:

• El gato está delgado.

Spanish does allow more flexibility in word order than English, so Está delgado el gato is possible, but it sounds marked or stylistic. It might be used for emphasis, contrast, or in a special context.

For a learner, the best version to use is the standard one:

• El gato está delgado.

Yes, if the subject is already clear from context.

Spanish often drops subjects when they are understood. So:

• Está delgado. = He/She/It is thin.

But on its own, this sentence does not tell you who is thin. If you want to clearly say the cat is thin, you should include El gato.

You would make both the noun and adjective plural, and change the verb form too:

• El gato está delgado. = The cat is thin.
• Los gatos están delgados. = The cats are thin.

Notice the changes:

• el → los
• gato → gatos
• está → están
• delgado → delgados

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• El gato está delgado
  roughly: el GAH-to es-TA del-GAH-tho

In much of Spain, z and soft c are pronounced like the th in think, so delgado itself does not have that sound, but if you had delgadoz somewhere else, the sound would matter. Here the main things to notice are:

• gato: stress on GA
• está: stress on the last syllable, TÁ
• delgado: stress on GA

A more general guide:

• el = like ell but shorter
• gato = GA-to
• está = es-TA
• delgado = del-GA-do

Sometimes, yes, but they are not always identical.

• delgado = thin, slim
• flaco = skinny, thin, sometimes a bit more colloquial or more negative

So:

• El gato está delgado sounds neutral and natural.
• El gato está flaco may sound more like The cat is skinny, possibly suggesting it is too thin.

For learners, delgado is the safer and more neutral choice here.