Ellos son peruanos y viven en Perú.

Questions & Answers about Ellos son peruanos y viven en Perú.

Why is peruanos written with a lowercase letter while Perú is capitalized?
In Spanish, nationalities and languages are not capitalized, which is why peruanos starts with a lowercase letter. However, the names of countries are proper nouns and do get a capital letter, just like in English, which is why Perú is capitalized.
Why do we use son instead of están for "are"?
The word son comes from ser, which is the verb "to be" used for permanent characteristics, identities, and origins. Since being Peruvian is a nationality and a core part of who they are, you must use ser. You would use the other "to be" verb, estar, for temporary states or physical locations.
Why isn't there another ellos before viven?
In Spanish, the ending of the verb usually tells you exactly who is doing the action. The -en ending on viven already means "they live." You don't need to repeat the word ellos (they) after the word y (and) because it is perfectly understood from the first part of the sentence.
Why does peruanos have an -s at the end?
In Spanish, adjectives that describe people or things have to match them in both gender and number (singular or plural). Because the subject ellos (they) is plural, the word describing their nationality also has to be plural. We add an -s to peruano to make it match.

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