Questions & Answers about La foto de la ventana es vieja.
Why do we use es instead of está to say the photo is old?
In Spanish, age and basic physical traits are seen as essential characteristics or permanent descriptions. Even though things get older over time, being old is now a core trait of the photo, so we use the verb ser (which becomes es here) rather than estar.
Wait, why is it la foto? Doesn't the 'o' at the end usually mean it should be el?
Usually, yes! But foto is short for the longer word fotografía. Since fotografía is feminine, the shortened version keeps the feminine word for 'the', which is la.
Does the word vieja change its ending to match what it describes?
Could vieja be describing the window (la ventana) instead of the photo?