Mi madre estaba acostada (acostarse) cuando volvimos.
My mother was in bed (had gone to bed) when we returned.
(d) With adjectives denoting a state of affairs susceptible to change:¿Estamos listos?
Are we ready?
¿Estás seguro/a?
Are you sure?María está muy triste. (see 36.3.1)
María is very sad.
¿Cómo está tu hermana? (see 36.3.2)
How is your sister?Ayer estuvo muy frío. (see 36.9)
Yesterday was very cold.^36 (p. 212)
(e) With adjectives which do not denote an inherent property of the noun to which
they relate:
La ciudad estaba muy sucia. (see 36.4)
The city was very dirty.
La habitación estaba vacía.
The room was empty.La sopa está caliente.
The soup is hot.
Está muy optimista.
He/she’s taking a very optimistic attitude.(f) With adjectives which are not used in an absolute way, but which denote a
comparative notion or a particular application of the quality:
Estoy muy viejo para estas cosas. (does not imply soy viejo)
I’m too old for these things.Pedro está muy orgulloso de sus hijos. (does not imply Pedro es
orgulloso)
Pedro is very proud of his children.
(g) With adjectives, to denote a subjective impression:Elena está muy guapa. (see 36.3.1)
Elena looks very pretty. (does not imply that she is (objectively) pretty)
¡Qué alto estás!
How tall you’ve grown! (does not imply that the child is (objectively)
tall)Está muy dulce la sidra.
The cider tastes very sweet. (though it may not be an inherently sweet
cider)SER AND ESTAR 22.2