son muy bonitas vs estan muy bonitas
In what cases are you going to use 'son'?'estan'? also for 'tu eres vs esta'?
6 Answers
You can use estar if it's not permanent or if they look particularly beautiful today, or if it's somewhat unusual to look beautiful for them. "Never" is a rule that is often broken in languages.
Eres bonita - you are pretty
Estás bonita (hoy) - you look pretty today, maybe you did up your makeup or whatnot. This is the kind of topic people love to argue about too, but around here it's like I stated.
Estás muy bonita, is the correct way to say it. You must use "estás" when you describe a person physically, as in pretty, skinny, ugly, tall, and all that stuff and you can also use it for all kinds of other descriptions....
But, here's the difference:
It is kind of uncommon to say "eres" when you discribe physically, unless you're saying things like: "Eres un monstruo" you're a monster, meaning this person you're talking to is tall or big....
You are free to say "eres" when you discribe a person's character.
You must use "estás" when you describe a person physically, as in pretty, skinny, ugly, tall, and all that stuff and you can also use it for all kinds of other descriptions....
I'm sure you really didn't mean that.
Ser is the "correct" verb to use with bonito. However, if you are telling someone that they are pretty at a particular time (temporary), you can use estar. Ie: You are pretty today. Estas bonita hoy. OR You are pretty. Eres bonita.
The adjective "bonito" can be used here to give a physical description. As others have already mentioned the difference boils down to:
When used with "estar" — you are describing a physical state, i.e. how they appear to you.
When used with "ser" — you are describing a physical characteristic.
Notice the contrast between the following examples:
SER
?Son muy bonitas ? They are very pretty (physical characteristic or attribute)
?María y Marta son (unas chavas) muy bonitas ? María and Marta are very pretty (girls).
?Las flores son (unas flores) muy bonitas ? The flowers are quite pretty
ESTAR
?Están muy bonitas ? They appear/look/are very pretty (physical state/appearance)
María y Marta están muy bonitas hoy ? María and Marta are (look/appear) very pretty today.
?Las flores estaban muy bonitas pues era primavera y en este tiempo las flores están muy bonitas pues es su tiempo ?The flowers were (appeared) quite lovely given that it was springtime and in spring flowers (typically) are (appear) quite lovely as it is their time.
Natives and advanced speakers, correct me if I am wrong, but with bonito and any of its forms, one should use ser and never estar, as it is a description.
Eres vs. está is just another way of asking what is the difference between ser vs. está. You can read more about that here.
