Learn Spanish (Spain): La casa blanca es nueva.

La casa blanca es nueva.

The white house is new.

Breakdown of La casa blanca es nueva.

ser

to be

la casa

the house / home (also "at home")

nuevo

new / another, different (before the noun)

blanco

white

Questions & Answers about La casa blanca es nueva.

Why is it casa blanca instead of blanca casa?

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives like colors usually come after the noun they describe. Since we are describing the house (casa) as white (blanca), the adjective goes right after it.

Both blanca and nueva end in -a. Why is that?

This is because of adjective agreement! In Spanish, adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. The word for house (casa) is feminine, so the base adjectives for white (blanco) and new (nuevo) change their ending to -a to become blanca and nueva.

How would this sentence change if we were talking about two white houses?

You would need to make everything plural to match the plural noun. The article la becomes las, and you add an -s to the noun and both adjectives. The verb es also changes to son (are). The plural sentence becomes: Las casas blancas son nuevas.

Why does this sentence use es instead of está for the word "is"?

We use es (from the verb ser) because we are describing physical characteristics and permanent traits of the house. We use está for temporary states or locations, but being white and being new are considered fundamental descriptions of what the house is.