Spanish Question (simple)

Guest   Fri Feb 29, 2008 4:18 am GMT
1. ¿Dónde está el concierto?
2. ¿Dónde es el concierto?
3. Both

Please note which you use and if you are a native speaker.
Jose Jose   Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:26 am GMT
2. ¿Dónde es el concierto?*

Note: Some Mexicans (however - mostly Hispanics) have a tendency upon using the verb "estar" instead of "ser".
Gues   Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:15 pm GMT
2 sounds more natural to me. but I couldn' say that 1 is wrong.
Guest   Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:18 pm GMT
Thank-you, Jose Jose.
Guest   Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:32 pm GMT
Is "concierto" used for the musical score of a concerto (solo instrument with orchestra)?

1. ¿Dónde está el concierto?

a. Used by Mexicans to ask about a concert (any type of concert)
b. Used by any Spanish speaker to ask about the location of a "concerto" musical score? (A conductor who misplaced his music)

2. ¿Dónde es el concierto?
Used by speakers of European Spanish to ask about the location of any type of concert?


3. Both


Thank-you, Guest after Jose Jose.
Guest   Fri Feb 29, 2008 3:27 pm GMT
1. ¿Dónde está el concierto?
your asking for the location of something.
2. ¿Dónde es el concierto?
your asking for the location of an event. Another example: ¿dónde es la reunión?. In this case you can't say it with the verb 'estar' because reunión is strictly an event and concierto is something physical(it's a stage and an event).
In short:
estar: Location of something.
exception:
ser: Location of an event because it is going to be temporary.

Meaning of concierto:
concierto
1.m. Función pública en la que se cantan o se tocan composiciones musicales:
concierto de música pop.
2.Composición musical para diversos instrumentos en la que uno o varios de ellos llevan la parte principal:
concierto para violín y piano.
Guest   Fri Feb 29, 2008 3:31 pm GMT
I don't think that you can apply rules to these cases. It's simply more normal to say "donde es el concierto", period but to say "donde está el concierto is not ungrammatical or wrong at all.
Guest   Fri Feb 29, 2008 3:40 pm GMT
<<"donde está el concierto is not ungrammatical or wrong at all>>
agreed but for the reason i tried to explain. In this case you're asking for the place(theater,square if it's in the open air,..) not for the event.
Take a look for the main uses of ser and estar:
http://www.fccj.edu/south/learning_cent/FlHandout/Verb%20-to%20be-
Guest   Fri Feb 29, 2008 3:56 pm GMT
I'm a native speaker, I don't need to learn how to use ser and estar. If you say "¿donde está el concierto ?" it means just the same as "¿dónde es el concierto?" Probably the only subtle difference is that "¿dónde está el concierto?" is more likely to refer to a concert that is being performed already and "¿donde es el concerto?" may refer to a the location of a concert which hasn't still begun.
Guest   Fri Feb 29, 2008 4:15 pm GMT
Would these be correct conclusions, then?


¿Dónde está el concierto?
a. Okay to use if the concert is in process
b. Okay to use if it is the conductor looking for his/her concerto score?
c. Acceptable to use if you are a Mexican speaker of Spanish to ask the location of a concert which hasn't begun.

2. ¿Dónde es el concierto?
Use to ask about the location of a concert which hasn't begun.
What do you use if you are European, Argentinian, Colombian etc? if the concert is already in process and you are late and trying to find the event?

Interesting views from everyone. Thank-you for clarification.
Gabriel   Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:07 am GMT
I would never say "¿Dónde está el concierto?" (and I don't think I've ever heard it from another native speaker) because a "concierto" is not a fixed place, but a performance. Regardless of whether it is in process or not, you would use "estar" to ask for the location of a building, structure, etc:

¿Dónde está la plaza San Martín?
¿Dónde está el museo nacional?
¿Dónde está el monumento al prócer?

For an event (even if it has not begun) you would use "ser":

¿Dónde es la maratón la semana que viene?
¿Dónde es el desfile de carnaval este año?
¿Dónde es el concierto?

If you google the phrase "Dónde está el concierto", you only get 81 hits (as opposed to 14400 you get when you google "dónde es el concierto"), and many of these use the question with a different meaning: "¿Dónde está el concierto que ibas a dar?" i.e. "What happened with that concert you were going to give?".


I am a native speaker, of the Rioplatense variety.
Guest   Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:58 am GMT
But what about this sentence, why is it 'ser'?

Es en el quinto. (refering to an apartment)
Rodrigo   Sat Mar 01, 2008 7:50 pm GMT
¿Dónde está el concierto? Implies the concert is moving, has moved or will moved and you do not know where it is right now.

To know why the person used ser in the sentence Es en el quinto, we need to know more about the context.
Guest   Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:13 am GMT
1. ¿Dónde está el concierto?
Where is the concert? (right now)

2. ¿Dónde es el concierto?
Where is the concert? (location)
Guest   Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:53 pm GMT
Okay, if I am looking for the concert and I can't find it (at a musical festival or a cultural festival which has many events) which one should I use? Please note if you are native speaker.

Thank-you!