What's the difference between the two sentences?
What's the difference between the following two sentences?
- La mesa es de madera.
vs.
- La mesa está hecha de madera.
Your help is absolutely appreciated!
3 Answers
La mesa es de madera. vs.
- La mesa está hecha de madera.
La mesa es de madera.
The table is wooden.
Literally, the table is from or of wood.
La mesa está hecha de madera.
The table is made of wood.
The table is made from wood.
Very little, if any difference, between any of these sentences. They are all saying the same thing in different ways. They are all, simply describing a wooden table. There may be a tiny difference, in that "La mesa está hecha de madera" basically does state that the table was made, but it doesn't focus at all on who made it, when it was made, or anything else. It is just saying it was made of wood....this rules out the possibility that this wooden table was just an accident of nature...that some tree just happened to grow this way. Given the Roman catholic influence on the Spanish language, even if the table was a tree that grew in the shape of a table, one could still say: hecha de madera. (It was made by God)
On the other hand:
La mesa fue hecha de madera.
The mesa was made from wood.
These are similar, but the focus is on tpast action, the fact that someone, in the past, made the table out of wood. This is known as the ser passive structure.
La mesa fue hecha de madera por Alberto en 2011.. (using ser, not estar)
The table was made from wood by Alberto in 2011.
An active structure of the same sentence would be:
Albert hizo la mesa de madera en 2011.
Alberto made the table out of wood in 2011.
Another way of thinking about the difference between estar and ser in the above sentences. Estar focuses on the result of the action in terms of the state / or status of the table. The table is made of wood. Ser focus on the action that was performed in the past. The table was made of wood or The table is made of wood (by someone).
Of course, in both Spanish and English many other verbs could be used for this. constructed, built, fabricated, created, etc., etc. but I think you get the idea.
In real life it would mean the same. but if we take another example you could see a difference.
La montaña es de barro.
Here no human mind or hands made the mountain. Nature did it by chance or it has always been like that or it was God's will, etc.
La montaña está hecha de barro.
Even though it could mean the same as above, or be used this way, it could also mean that it was made by human hands.
This is as far as I can go.
Hello!
These two links might be answer to your question:
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