Log inSign up

Ella está alegre hoy.

Ella está alegre hoy.
She is cheerful today.
From Lesson 160:Subjunctive for emotions (me alegra que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Ella está alegre hoy.

Since this lesson is about emotions like 'me alegra que', why doesn't this sentence use the subjunctive?
This is a simple statement describing a feeling using the adjective alegre (cheerful). You only trigger the subjunctive when a verb of emotion is followed by que and a change of subject. For example, me alegra que ella esté aquí (I am happy that she is here). Here, we are just stating her current mood directly without a second clause.
Why do we use está instead of es here?
Alegre changes meaning depending on the verb. Using estar describes a temporary mood or state: she is feeling cheerful today. If we used ser (ella es alegre), we would be describing her permanent personality: she is a naturally joyful person.
If the subject is ella, shouldn't the adjective end in 'a'?
Not all adjectives change to match gender. Adjectives that end in -e in their base form, like alegre, triste, or inteligente, are gender-neutral. They stay the same for both masculine and feminine subjects. They only change when pluralized, becoming alegres.

Learn Ella está alegre hoy and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →