Breakdown of A pesar de que el faro está dañado, el capitán puede navegar.
estar
to be (location/state)
poder
to be able to / can
dañado
damaged
a pesar de que
even though / despite the fact that (stronger concession)
navegar
to sail
el capitán
captain
el faro
lighthouse
Questions & Answers about A pesar de que el faro está dañado, el capitán puede navegar.
Why do we use the indicative está instead of the subjunctive esté after a pesar de que in this sentence?
We use the indicative because the speaker is stating an established, known fact: the lighthouse is actually damaged right now. If this were a hypothetical scenario (like 'Even if the lighthouse were damaged...'), we would use the subjunctive esté.
Could I drop the que and just use an infinitive here?
No, because the two parts of the sentence have different subjects. The first part is about the lighthouse (el faro) and the second is about the captain (el capitán). You can generally only use a pesar de followed by an infinitive when the subject is the exact same for both actions.
Why is the verb estar used for 'is damaged' (está dañado) instead of ser?
We use estar here because it describes a physical state or condition that is the result of an action. Being damaged isn't an inherent characteristic of the lighthouse, it's just its current condition.
What is the difference between a pesar de que and aunque?
They are very similar and usually interchangeable when stating facts like this. A pesar de que (despite the fact that / even though) is just slightly more emphatic about the obstacle than the simpler aunque (although).
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