Learn Spanish (Latin America): El parque está cerrado porque llueve.

El parque está cerrado porque llueve.

The park is closed because it rains.

Breakdown of El parque está cerrado porque llueve.

estar

to be (location/state)

Questions & Answers about El parque está cerrado porque llueve.

Wait, I thought "why" was por qué (two words). Why is porque one word here?

Por qué (two words, with an accent) means "why" and is used for asking questions. Porque (one word, no accent) means "because" and is used to give reasons, just like in this sentence.

Why do we use está instead of es for "is" in está cerrado?

We use está (from the verb estar) because being closed is a state or condition. The park isn't a permanently closed thing; it just happens to be closed right now. If you used es (from ser), it would sound like the park's fundamental nature is to be closed!

Does cerrado change depending on what is closed?

Yes! Cerrado acts like an adjective here, describing el parque. Since parque is masculine and singular, it's cerrado. If you were talking about a pool (la piscina), you would say la piscina está cerrada.

Why is there no word for "it" before llueve (it rains)?

In Spanish, you don't need a subject pronoun like "it" for weather verbs. The verb llueve already means "it rains" or "it is raining" all by itself.