Do we say "es caro" o "esta caro"?
Do we say "es caro" o "esta caro"?
thanks :D
6 Answers
Yes, both are possible:
When you use ser is because the object is always expensive (a lamborghini).
When you use estar is because the object doesn't have to be usually expensive, but lately it is (when you buy tomatoes and you realize they were cheaper last month).
I've always said es caro. Being expensive seems to be an intrinsic property of something.
but i found on this site it said: la vida está muy cara -> everything is so expensive. Is it possible that both are valid? thanks again.
Again, this has to do with the subtle difference between whether you are stating this cost as a defining feature or whether you are commenting on how prices stand at a particular time. For example, here are a couple of excerpted sentences:
SER: Vladivostok, Panama and Colón are, by nature, very expensive places to live.
?Panamá y Colón tienen excelentes hoteles y restaurantes, pero la vida es muy cara. ? Panama and Colón have excellent hotels and restaurant, but the cost of living is very high.
?En los mercados de la población de Vladivostok, donde la vida es muy cara, se venden los faisanes a 15 ó 20 kopeks. ? In the markets of Vladivostok, where the cost of living is very high (where life is very expensive), pheasants are sold for 15 or 20 kopeks.
ESTAR: Everything costs so much, nowadays/As it stands, life is so expensive.
?Anoche fuí al Teatro Colón donde los precios son desde cuatro pesos en adelante....La vida está muy cara, sobretodo en Buenos Aires. ? Last night I went to the Columbus Theater where prices start at four pesos....Everything costs so much nowadays, especially in Buenos Aires.
?¿Acaso no sabe que con este Presidente la vida está muy cara y hay que ahorrar? ? Don't you realize that, with this President, life is very expensive and one must save?
El Lamborghini es un coche caro. (allways)
El jitomate está muy caro. (this week, perhaps, comparing to the last week)
Ser pobre es muy caro
When you use "ser" with an adjective you are using it to describe what might be considered the "whatness" or the intrinsic nature of what is being described. That is you are classifying or defining the object by this adjective, so as others have already said:
El Lamborghini es (un coche) caro ? A Lamborghini is (an) expensive (car)
That is, by using ser, you are conveying the intrinsic nature of the Lamborghini or classifying/defining it with the word "expensive/caro."
On the other hand, when you use "estar," you are more concerned with "howness" or "how the price stands" at that particular instant. That is, with estar you are concerned with the status of prices at the moment (and not as a defining feature of what it is you are referring to). This can be exemplified by the following excerpted news article:
Cosa cierta es que, "todo está muy caro". Muchos ansían que los precios de los alimentos bajen–o que al menos se mantengan...
One things for sure, prices have skyrocketed/everything is very expensive (right now). Many desperately desire for food prices to decrease–or for them to at least stabilize...
Here, with the use of "estar," the author is describing the state of food prices or how food prices stand at the moment (rather than describing food as being intrinsically expensive).
