Breakdown of La ventana es pequeña, pero está abierta.
ser
to be
pero
but
pequeño
small
estar
to be (location/state)
abierto
open
la ventana
the window
Questions & Answers about La ventana es pequeña, pero está abierta.
Why does this sentence use both es and está to mean "is"?
This sentence is a perfect example of the difference between the two Spanish verbs for "to be". We use es (from the verb ser) for pequeña because being small is a physical characteristic of the window. We use está (from the verb estar) for abierta because being open is a temporary state or condition.
Why do pequeña and abierta both end in "-a"?
In Spanish, adjectives have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because la ventana (the window) is a feminine noun, the adjectives pequeña (small) and abierta (open) must also be in their feminine forms, ending in "-a" instead of "-o".
Why doesn't the second half say "pero ella está abierta" to mean "but it is open"?
In Spanish, you usually drop the subject pronoun (like the word for "it", "he", or "she") when it is already clear what you are talking about. Since we just mentioned la ventana, we do not need to add a word for "it" before está.
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