ELONIO
Log inSign up

El museo está en la ciudad vieja.

El museo está en la ciudad vieja.
The museum is in the old city.
From Lesson 15:Hay vs. estar·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El museo está en la ciudad vieja.

Why do we use está here instead of hay?
We use está because we are talking about the location of a specific thing: el museo (the museum). If we wanted to say 'There is a museum' (unspecific), we would use hay instead: Hay un museo en la ciudad vieja.
Why does está have an accent mark on the 'a'?
The accent mark shows that the spoken stress goes on the last syllable. It also makes a big difference in meaning! está means 'is', but esta (no accent) means 'this', as in esta ciudad (this city).
How do we know ciudad is feminine if it doesn't end in 'a'?
Almost all Spanish nouns that end in -dad (like ciudad or universidad) are feminine. That is why it uses la and why the adjective that follows it is vieja.
Why is it ciudad vieja instead of vieja ciudad?
In Spanish, descriptive adjectives like vieja (old) almost always come after the noun they describe.

Learn El museo está en la ciudad vieja and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →