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El estudiante está confuso y no sabe qué estudiar.

El estudiante está confuso y no sabe qué estudiar.
The student is confused and does not know what to study.
From Lesson 253:Indirect questions with infinitives·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El estudiante está confuso y no sabe qué estudiar.

Why is it qué estudiar instead of a conjugated verb?
This sentence uses an indirect question with an infinitive. When someone doesn't know how, what, or where to do something, you simply use the question word (like qué) followed by the unconjugated verb (like estudiar). It translates exactly to the English phrase 'what to study'.
Why does qué have an accent mark if this isn't a direct question?
Interrogative words like qué, dónde, and cómo always keep their written accent marks when they introduce an indirect question. Even though there are no question marks, qué estudiar still represents an unanswered question in the student's mind.
Could I say está confundido instead of está confuso?
Yes! In Latin America, both está confuso and está confundido are common ways to say 'is confused'. Confuso can sometimes also mean 'confusing' (like a confusing book), but here the verb está makes it clear we are talking about the student's temporary feeling.
Why do we use está instead of es with confuso?
We use estar to talk about temporary states, moods, and feelings. Being confused is a temporary state of mind for the student, so we use está. If you used ser and said el estudiante es confuso, it would mean the student is a confusing person!

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