Breakdown of El comedor está al lado de la cocina.
estar
to be (location/state)
la cocina
the kitchen
al lado de
next to
el comedor
the dining room
Questions & Answers about El comedor está al lado de la cocina.
Why do we use está here instead of es if the dining room is permanently in that spot?
Even though the room isn't moving, Spanish always uses estar (here as está) to talk about the physical location of people, places, and things. The verb ser (es) is used for defining what something is, not where it is.
Why is it al lado rather than just a lado?
The phrase for "next to" is al lado de, which literally means "at the side of". Because lado (side) is a masculine noun, it needs the article el (the). Whenever a and el are next to each other, they must combine into the contraction al.
Is the word comedor related to the verb comer (to eat)?
I know cocina means kitchen, but does it have other common meanings?
Yes, cocina is a very flexible word! Aside from the room itself, it can also mean "stove" (the appliance) or "cuisine" (like in the phrase cocina española for Spanish cuisine).
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