"estar" with "muerto"?
On another Spanish language learning website, I've been taught to use "estar"with "muerto," as in "Juan está muerto." I've always thought of death as a permanent condition--certainly one lasting more than two or three weeks. Can someone enlighten me as to the reason for the use of "estar" with this adjective?
3 Answers
It's a good idea to not follow the rule that "estar" is used for temporary conditions. 'Estar" comes for the Latin "stare" which is very similar in meaning to status or state, it literally means "to stand". this makes sense when you notice that "estar is used to state the status of something and to state its location, where it's standing, literally.
- "Ser" comes from "essere" which is related to the English word "essence". "Ser" is used to describe the fundamental nature of a thing.
- Think of it this way, if I asked you to describe your death grandfather, would the first thing you think of be a fact that he is dead? No, being dead is not part of his nature, it just happens to be that he is "in a dead state" so to speak.
- I remember having a similar issue with the use of "estar" with "muerto" I believe there is a page on this site somewhere in which a user named Lazarus (very knowledgeable person) talked about the differences between ser and estar. he specifically mentions the reason that estar is used when referring to death.
- I hope that that was helpful.
I have the same concern so here is a possibly silly explanation. Most Spanish speaking countries are predominately Catholic and thus the belief that death is not permanent. Or maybe they are just trying to confuse all of us non-native speakers.
Oh, and then there is the old saying that every rule needs an exception.
I'm not sure, but I imagine it is because it does not refer to the state of a person thoughout their histroy. It's only talking about the condition of that person since they passed away.
