"es" and "esta(with an accent)"

Question

What's the difference between "es" and "está"?

Is it like this? Like, some adjectives use "es" and others use "está"?

I'm studying Spanish with Rosetta Stone, and I have these sentences: ¿Es peligrosa? ¿Está oscuro?

And I was confused...Because peligrosa and oscuro are both adjectives...

Answer 1

Es is a form of SER, and Está is a form of ESTAR.

Here´s a good overview http://www.spanishdict.com/topics/show/41

Speaking in rough generalizations, SER is used for characteristics that are permanent, whereas ESTAR is used for describing a current, but changeable, state.

Ella está alegre. She is happy (right now, but could change any minute)

Ella es alegre. She is a happy person (that´s the way she is, in general)

¿Es peligrosa? Is it dangerous. Is it an inherently, always dangerous activity?

¿Está oscuro? Is it dark, right now.

hth

Thank you so much! - kimhyuna3011, Dec 2, 2012