La cuesta es muy larga.

The uphill slope is very long.

Breakdown of La cuesta es muy larga.

• ser: to be
• muy: very
• largo: long
• la cuesta: the uphill slope

Questions & Answers about La cuesta es muy larga.

Why is it la cuesta and not el cuesta?

Because cuesta is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine article la.

• la cuesta = the slope / the hill
• If a noun is feminine, adjectives describing it also usually need feminine forms.

That is why the sentence also has larga, not largo.

Why is it larga and not largo?

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

Here:

• cuesta = feminine singular
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular
• largo becomes larga

Compare:

• el camino largo = the long path
• la cuesta larga = the long slope

Why is it es and not está?

Spanish uses ser and estar differently, and this is a very common learner question.

Here, es is used because larga describes a more inherent characteristic of the slope: its length. It is being presented as part of what the slope is like.

• La cuesta es muy larga. = The slope is very long.

Using está would sound unusual here, because length is not normally thought of as a temporary state.