Breakdown of La mesa de la oficina está limpia.
de
from / of
la mesa
the table
estar
to be (location/state)
la oficina
the office
limpio
clean
Questions & Answers about La mesa de la oficina está limpia.
Why do we use está here instead of es?
In Spanish, we use the verb estar (which gives us está) to talk about physical states or conditions that can change. A table being clean is a temporary state—it could easily get dirty later! If we used es (from the verb ser), it would sound like being clean is a permanent, defining characteristic of the table, like its shape or what it is made of.
Why do we say mesa de la oficina instead of just "oficina mesa"?
Limpia means "clean," but why does it end in an 'a'? Is it matching mesa or oficina?
Adjectives in Spanish must match the gender of the noun they describe. Here, limpia is describing la mesa (the table), which is a feminine noun, so the adjective must end in -a rather than -o. It just happens that oficina is also feminine, but the adjective is talking about the table!
Why does está have an accent mark on the 'a'?
The accent mark tells you to stress the final syllable when you speak (es-TÁ). It is also very important because it changes the meaning of the word. With the accent, está means "is." Without the accent, esta means "this" (for example, esta mesa means "this table").
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