El Profe Virtual answers all questions related to the Spanish language and to all things Spanish or Latin American.

Here's what he has answered so far.

 

Q1. I’ve found both statements: “El cielo es azul” and “El cielo está azul” (The sky is blue). Which one is correct?

A: Both statements are correct, although they mean different things. Notice the use of different verbs: ser and estar. When used with adjectives, ser denotes a permanent characteristic whereas estar indicates a state or condition.

In the first one: “El cielo es azul” the verb, “es”, from SER, refers to a permanent characteristic. Blue is the colour of the sky.

In the second one: The use of ESTAR indicates “azul” is just a state.

The first one can be translated as The sky is blue and the second one as “The sky looks (especially) blue”

You could never say “El cielo es rojo” since being red is not a permanent characteristic the sky has, but you could say “El cielo está rojo”, meaning the sky looks red, as it does at sunset.

To summarise, when describing a noun with colours, if the colour you are referring to is the natural colour of something use SER to show the permanent nature (El cielo es azul) and ESTAR, when talking about the colour something has at a particular moment (El cielo está rojo).

Sometimes a colour carries extra information, like when talking about fruit: “La manzana es verde”, it’s a Granny Smith, and it will be always green; “La manzana está verde”, meaning it’s not ready yet (it’s unripe) and eventually it will become red, once it’s ripe.

 

Q2. : I’ve learning Spanish for a few weeks. I’m traveling to Barcelona soon and I’ve been told they speak a different language over there. Is it true?

A: People who’ve told you that are probably referring to Catalan. Catalan, together with Spanish, is the official language of Catalonia, the region where Barcelona is situated. Texts in Catalan can be traced back as far as the 12th century. During periods of repression, such as Franco’s dictatorship, speaking Catalan was forbidden. Nowdays, it is very much alive and spoken by 10 million people. It’s the official language of Andorra, Catalonia, the Balearics, Valencia, some areas in Aragon and in Alghero (a town in Sardinia).

Spanish is also the official language in Catalonia, so don’t worry if you don’t speak Catalan, you can also make yourself understood in Spanish. If you are interested in learning more about Catalan, you can visit the web site the Institute Ramon Llull has, on www.llull.com. This organization promotes Catalan language and culture.