Breakdown of ¿Están las manzanas en la caja?
la manzana
the apple
en
in / on / at
las
the (feminine plural)
estar
to be (location/state)
Questions & Answers about ¿Están las manzanas en la caja?
Why is en used here instead of a specific word for 'inside'?
The preposition en is very flexible and can mean 'in', 'on', or 'at' depending on the context. Since apples generally go inside a box, en la caja naturally translates to 'in the box'. If you needed to be extremely specific, you could use a phrase like adentro de, but en is the most common and natural choice for location.
Why do we use están instead of son for 'are'?
Why does the verb están come before the apples (las manzanas)?
If the apples are plural, why is the box (la caja) singular?