Breakdown of El niño está asustado por el perro.
el niño
the boy
el perro
the dog
estar
to be (location/state)
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
asustado
scared
Questions & Answers about El niño está asustado por el perro.
Since this lesson is about emotions triggering the subjunctive, why isn't the subjunctive used here?
We only use the subjunctive for emotions when there is a change of subject, meaning one person has a feeling about an action that someone else does (like Me asusta que el perro ladre, which means it scares me that the dog barks). In this sentence, we are just stating a simple fact about the boy's own emotional state, so there is no que and no second verb to put into the subjunctive. We simply use está plus the adjective asustado.
Why do we use por here instead of para?
We use por to express the cause or reason for something. Here it translates to because of or by. The dog is the cause of the boy's fear. On the other hand, para is typically used for purposes, destinations, or deadlines.
Why is the verb está used instead of es?
We use estar for physical or emotional states. Because being scared is a feeling the boy is experiencing, está is required. If we used es, it would incorrectly imply a permanent characteristic (though to say someone is generally a fearful person, native speakers would more likely use the word asustadizo).
Can the ending of asustado change?
Yes! Even though asustado is the past participle of the verb asustar (to scare), it acts as an adjective here. This means its ending must match the gender and number of the noun it describes. For a girl, it would be La niña está asustada, and for multiple boys, Los niños están asustados.
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