Breakdown of El lápiz está en la mesa.
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
estar
to be (location/state)
la mesa
the table
el lápiz
the pencil
Questions & Answers about El lápiz está en la mesa.
Why do we use está instead of es for 'is'?
In Spanish, the verb estar (which becomes está for 'it is') is used to talk about physical locations. The other verb for 'to be' is ser (which becomes es), but that is used for permanent descriptions and identities. Because we are talking about where the pencil is located right now, we must use está.
Doesn't the word en usually mean 'in'?
Why is there an accent mark on the 'a' in está?
The accent mark tells you to stress the final syllable when speaking. It is also very important in writing because it tells this word apart from esta (without an accent), which means 'this'. If you left off the accent mark, the sentence would look like 'The pencil this in the table', which would confuse a reader!