Learn Spanish (Spain): La catedral está en la plaza.

La catedral está en la plaza.

The cathedral is in the square.

Breakdown of La catedral está en la plaza.

in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)

estar

to be (location/state)

Questions & Answers about La catedral está en la plaza.

Why do we use está here instead of es?

In Spanish, there are two verbs for 'to be'. We use estar (which becomes está here) for locations, like telling someone where a building is. We use ser (which becomes es) for characteristics, like saying how old or big the building is.

Does en always mean 'in'?

The word en is very flexible! It can mean 'in', 'on', or 'at' depending on the context. In this sentence, it translates to 'in' the square, but it is just as correct to think of it as 'at' the square.

Why does está have an accent mark on the letter 'a'?

The accent mark tells you to stress the final sound when speaking. It also helps tell it apart from esta without an accent, which is a completely different word meaning 'this' (for example, esta plaza means 'this square').