Breakdown of Esos libros en el estante son muy caros.
ser
to be
el libro
the book
en
in / on / at
caro
expensive
muy
very
esos
those (masculine)
el estante
the shelf
Questions & Answers about Esos libros en el estante son muy caros.
Why is it esos libros and not eses libros?
I thought en meant "in", but here it translates to "on". How do I know which one it is?
The Spanish preposition en is very versatile and can mean "in", "on", or "at". You rely on context to know the exact meaning. Since books are usually placed on top of a shelf (el estante), "on" is the best English translation here.
Why do we use son instead of están to talk about the price?
In Spanish, we use the verb ser (here as son) to talk about the inherent characteristics or qualities of a noun. Even though a price could technically change, being expensive (caro) is treated as a basic description of these books, so we use ser instead of estar.
Why does the word caros end in an "-s"?
Adjectives in Spanish must match the noun they describe in both gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural). Because the adjective describes esos libros, which is a masculine and plural noun, the base word caro (expensive) gets an "-s" to become caros.
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