Los árboles altos son viejos.

Questions & Answers about Los árboles altos son viejos.

Why does altos come after árboles instead of before it?
In Spanish, descriptive adjectives like altos (tall) almost always come right after the noun they describe. So instead of saying 'tall trees', Spanish structures it as 'trees tall' (árboles altos).
Since árboles does not end in -o, how do we know it is masculine to match with altos and viejos?
Not all masculine words end in -o. We can tell árboles is masculine because of the word for 'the' before it: los is the masculine plural article. Because the noun is masculine, any adjectives describing it must also take their masculine forms (altos and viejos).
Why do both adjectives in this sentence end in -os?
Both altos (tall) and viejos (old) describe the trees. Since árboles is a plural noun, every adjective describing it must also be plural. They both take the masculine plural -os ending to agree with the noun they describe.
Why do we use son for 'are' instead of están?
son comes from the verb ser, which is used to describe fundamental, lasting characteristics. Since being tall and old are permanent physical traits of these trees, we use son. The verb estar (están) is used for temporary states or locations.

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