Breakdown of La llave está debajo de la maceta.
estar
to be (location/state)
la llave
key
la
the (feminine)
debajo de
under
Questions & Answers about La llave está debajo de la maceta.
Why is there a de after debajo? Can I just say debajo la maceta?
You need the de. When you use location words like debajo (underneath) and want to mention the specific object it is under, you must use de to connect them. So, "under the flowerpot" is always debajo de la maceta. However, if you just wanted to say "The key is underneath" without mentioning the pot, you would drop the de and just say La llave está debajo.
Why do we use está instead of es in this sentence?
If the object was masculine, like a book (el libro), would debajo de change to match it?
The phrase debajo de itself never changes because prepositions don't have gender. However, the de will combine with the masculine word for "the" (el). So, if the key was under the book, you would say debajo del libro instead of debajo de el libro. Since maceta is feminine, the words stay separate: debajo de la.