Learn Spanish (Latin America): El niño está serio ahora.

El niño está serio ahora.

The boy is serious now.

Breakdown of El niño está serio ahora.

el niño

the boy

estar

to be (location/state)

ahora

now

serio

serious (person, character)

Questions & Answers about El niño está serio ahora.

Why do we use está instead of es in this sentence?

We use está (from the verb estar) because being serious is a temporary mood or condition here. The word ahora (now) gives us a big clue that this is just how he feels or looks at this exact moment, rather than who he is fundamentally.

What would it mean if we said El niño es serio?

Using es (from the verb ser) changes the meaning to describe a permanent personality trait. El niño es serio means he is a serious boy in general. By using está, we are only talking about his behavior right now.

Would serio change if we were talking about a girl?

Yes! Adjectives in Spanish have to match the gender of the person you are describing. If it were a girl, the sentence would be La niña está seria ahora.

Why does está have an accent mark over the last letter?

The accent mark tells you to put the spoken stress on that last syllable. It is also crucial because it helps tell the verb está (is) apart from the word esta (this, as in 'this girl'), which is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.