But frequently it can cause problems.
For example – if you say ¿Dónde son tus
padres? What do you mean? In fact it might
as well be gibberish. It means nothing. Do
you want to say ‘Where are your parents?’ or
‘Where are your parents from?’ You’ve actually
said neither… A Spanish speaker would have
no idea at all what you meant. Did you use the
wrong verb, or did you forget the ‘de’??
‘Where are your parents?’
is ¿Dónde están tus padres?
‘Where are your parents
from?’
is ¿De dónde son tus padres?
There are also many times when using the
wrong verb totally changes the meaning of
an adjective…Here are a few examples – but
there are many more
Es listo – he’s clever
Está listo – he’s ready
https://youtu.be/nUQknA7xpsQ
La manzana es verde – the apple is
green (colour)
La manzana está verde – the apple is
Green (unripe)
Mi hermana es aburrida – my sister is
boring
Mi hermana está aburrida – my sister
is bored
Javier es borracho – Javier is a drunk
Javier está borracho – Javier is drunk
(at the moment)
Ana es interesada – Ana is selfish
Ana está interesada – Ana is
interested
Jorge es cansado – Jorge is tiresome
Jorge está cansado – Jorge is tired
So you see – you sometimes need to be really
careful, or you could be insulting someone, or
at the very least, giving the wrong impression!
Lynn Cobb
www.learn-aprender.com
www.facebook.com/LearnAprender
Lynn Cobb
Learn
Aprender