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La catedral es vieja y bonita.

La catedral es vieja y bonita.
The cathedral is old and beautiful.
From Lesson 28:Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)·Spanish (Spain)

Breakdown of La catedral es vieja y bonita.

ser
to be
y
and
viejo
old
bonito
pretty
la catedral
the cathedral

Questions & Answers about La catedral es vieja y bonita.

Why do we use es instead of está to say "is"?
We use es (from the verb ser) because we are describing permanent qualities or physical characteristics of the cathedral. We use the other verb for "to be", estar, for temporary states or locations.
Catedral doesn't end in -a. How do we know it's feminine?
You can tell it is feminine here because it uses the feminine word for "the", which is la. Not all feminine words end in -a. Words ending in consonants can be masculine or feminine, so it is a good habit to always memorize a new word together with its el or la.
Why are the words for "old" and "beautiful" written as vieja and bonita?
Describing words (adjectives) have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Since la catedral is feminine, the adjectives must also take their feminine forms: vieja (instead of viejo) and bonita (instead of bonito).
Is vieja the normal word to use for "old"?
For things and places like a cathedral, vieja (or viejo) is the standard word for "old." But be careful: when talking about people, calling someone viejo can sound rude. For people, it is much better to use the word mayor (older).

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