confused about the introduction Esta es

Question

Hi I am confused about the the introduction esta es, or este es (which means 'this is'). These introductions seem to have both ser and estar?? How can that be possible?

• Welcome to the forum. Your question is an excellent one as others may also feel confused when first seeing this. - webdunce Nov 15, 2009

Answer 1

Ésta or Esta is a demonstrative pronoun referring to some feminine noun previously stated (This). If they hadn't changed the rules so that you needn't use the tilde this would be more recognizable.

Anyway, if it had been Estar conjugated it would have been Está. Tildes are important in Spanish.

Ésta (demonstrative pronoun-this [one]

Esta (demonstrative adjective (this)

Está-he/she/it/you is/are (Está can be 3rd person, singular or 2nd person, singular, formal)

Answer 2

Este and esta mean this and are not a form of estar.

Está (with the accent mark over the a) is a form of estar.

You can, in fact, also say "Esta está," which also means "This is" but uses estar instead of ser.

Because of the placement of the accent mark, está (is) does not sound quite like esta (this), even though they are written similarly.

Este and esta (meaning this) can also sometimes been found with accent marks, in which case they are written thus: éste and ésta.

For a similar example in English, consider the difference between the noun lead (the metal, pronounced /led/ and verb lead (the act of leading, pronounced /leed/).

Answer 3

This = Este/Esta. (not the verb estar, I think is called demonstrative adjective)

These = Estos/Estas. (plural)

*La semana pasada leí un buen artículo en esta revista, pero este que estoy leyendo hoy está mucho mejor.

Last week I read a good article in this magazine, but this one that I'm reading today is much better.

Answer 4

This is the best Spanish spelling lesson, ever.