Estás loco / Eres loco ... Which one is correct ?

Question

I've done some grammar exercises... However, I don't understand the following question:

1. ¡ Tú ________loco ! why the answer is'' estás'' but not ''eres''?

Isn't ''loco'' means ''crazy'' (adj )?

Very good question! - jphip, Sep 9, 2014

Answer 1

The answer is "estás" because he/ she is acting crazy in the moment. If you were to say "eres loco" it would be more severe as if he/ she were "permanently" crazy with some sort of psychological illness.

Also, eres loco could be used if the person was doing something dangerous to harm or something way out of the norm, which in turn would mean that there was something permanently wrong with the individual, despite being said in moment.

Now, I am going to throw you a wrench. This whole concept could be varied and reversed completely depending on which country you are visiting.

Even Spanish speakers around the world argue the differences between the two. Ex: In Spain it means this, but in Colombia it means this. etc...

*crazy (cracy)

I stick with the basics on this one: "estar" is temporary and "ser" is permanent. - jphip, Sep 9, 2014

thanks jphip ... your answer is very detail ! Thank you so much ;D And thanks for correcting my typing error... yes... what i want to say is ''crazy'' but not ''cracy'' - mercy1415, Sep 9, 2014

Did you mean to say, throw you a wrench? - siempre, Sep 9, 2014

Siempre, it is an English idiom expression and It means something like 'to throw a spanner into the works' ie; (in this context) to contradict what I have just said! I hope this helps :) - FELIZ77, Sep 9, 2014

Thank you, Feliz I appreciate your response. (Throw had originally been misspelled) - siempre, Sep 9, 2014

Siempre had a good catch and let me know that I had a typo! (jphip aka "fat fingers") : ) - jphip, Sep 9, 2014

Answer 2

crazy.

eres loco is your trait

estás loco is like saying your crazy. You really going to do it?

opps... there is an typing error on my question.. it should be ''crazy'' but not ''cracy'' ;P;P - mercy1415, Sep 9, 2014

its ok - Rey_Mysterio, Sep 12, 2014

Answer 3

Eres un loco ..... You are a crazy person / a nut .

Answer 4

I stick with the basics on this one: "estar" is temporary and "ser" is permanent.

I probably shouldn’t comment on this, but that rule is not a very good one, just a poor approximation of the rule that “estar” is a state something is in, “ser” is a defining characteristic:

Es niño

Es adolescente

Es camarero pero quiere ser actor algún día (well maybe this one is permanent)

Está muerto

Este coche está roto:

There are always gray areas, just the way estás/eres loco are viewed/interpreted diff. from Spanish speakers from different countries. I leave it up to them to argue, and I just go with the flow. It is the same how "ahorita": is interpreted.differently. - jphip, Sep 9, 2014

"right now" or "in a little while". Etc, Etc, Etc... As I have traveled all over, I have learned to adapt rather than argue points that have no definite end. I just take it all in and associate the use(s) to that specific country/ region. - jphip, Sep 9, 2014

My comment is only on how to explain things to new learners, obviously when one is more advanced, an instinctive feel for how things is done is much better than any rule- you cannot speak in real time if you have to reach for a rule. - bosquederoble, Sep 9, 2014

So this was not for you, solely for beginners who may take that "permanent/temporary" thing as a inviolate rule that must be followed. - bosquederoble, Sep 9, 2014

All good! : ) You are totally right though! - jphip, Sep 9, 2014

you can also say esta discompuesto - Rey_Mysterio, Sep 12, 2014

Answer 5

Hello Mercy,

Welocme to the SpanishDict forum

I know that your question has already received lots of replies but I am going to add one more lol hahaha

Eres loco =You are crazy /mad (refers to person)

I believ that I am right in saying that the use of the verb ser here refers to a person's actual characteristic or personality trait it is much more serious and is implying that they have some permanent mental illness! You should not use the verb ser hastily to express this idea!/you would use this expression guardedly

Estás loco = You are crazy! (refers to the action: what you are doing is crazy!)) In contrast, the use of estar, the other Spanish verb to be refers to some words that a person has spoken or an action, that a person has done /is doing that seems stupid and is of a less serious nature ..and is not referring to any permanent characteristic/personalty trait.

Friends are likely to use this expression with each other.if tehy think their friend has /friends have acted 'over the top'!

I hope this helps .

Corrijan mi español, por favor

thanks a lot , FELIZ77 ;) I'm so glad that I can learn a lot from this website ! ^^ - mercy1415, Sep 10, 2014

You are welcome, Mercy :) - FELIZ77, Sep 10, 2014

Answer 6

Great advice here in the other answers, so ¿Estás loco o eres loco? jajaja.

If it's Gringo it's estás. If you are speaking of Ray, it's eres. hahahaha. Just kidding Ray & Gringo. - katydew, Sep 9, 2014

Todo depende, ni? - katydew, Sep 9, 2014