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El baño está cerca de la puerta.

El baño está cerca de la puerta.
The bathroom is close to the door.
From Lesson 15:Hay vs. estar·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El baño está cerca de la puerta.

Why do we use está here instead of hay?
We use a form of estar (here, está) because we are talking about the location of a specific bathroom—it is el baño (the bathroom). We use hay when we are talking about the existence of an unspecific thing. For example, if you wanted to say 'There is a bathroom near the door', you would use hay un baño.
I learned that estar is for temporary things. Why use it for a bathroom?
A common shortcut taught to beginners is that estar is for temporary states and ser is for permanent ones, but physical location is a major exception! We always use estar to talk about where things are located, even if they are permanent buildings like el baño (the bathroom).
Why do we need the word de in cerca de la puerta?
In Spanish, the word cerca (close or near) requires the connecting word de whenever you mention what the object is close to. You cannot just say cerca la puerta; it must be cerca de la puerta (literally 'close of the door').
What does the accent mark on está do?
It tells you to stress the final syllable when speaking. It is also incredibly important for spelling because it distinguishes the verb está (is) from the word esta (no accent mark), which means 'this' (as in esta puerta, meaning 'this door').

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