¿Eres of estás?
When saying in Spanish "Why are you home so early?" such as when a wife asks her husband why he came home from work so early, is 'eres' or 'estás' used? I should know the answer to this but it is a little gray to me.
2 Answers
It's his physical location, so it's "estás." ¿Por qué estás en casa tan temprano? (Why are you home so early?)
If it's his character or personality it's "eres." ¿Por qué eres tan majadero? (Why are you such a jerk?)
Mariana couldn't have explained it better, but for the question "why are you home so early?" many of us would rather say "¿por qué llegaste a casa tan temprano?", just like "I'm home" would be better translated as "ya llegué" than "ya estoy en casa". So, in everyday speech it is more common to say "llegar" tan "estar" if it's about being at home earlier than usual.
