Ser vs estar: expresiones fijas (¡pan comido!)

In Spain, “estar hecho polvo” means to feel very tired / exhausted, often when you have a cold or after a hard day. The expression describes a temporary state → it goes with the verb “estar”. Compare with the health examples: young people say “estoy hecho polvo” when they’re feeling unwell.

The idiom “ser pan comido” = “very easy” (literally “bread that’s been eaten”). Here we’re talking about a characteristic of the task, so we use “ser”: “fue pan comido”. Reminder: “ser” is used for characteristics / classification.

“Estar pez (en algo)” = “to know nothing about something / to be clueless”. In meaning it’s close to “estar verde” = inexperienced / not ready. It’s treated as a temporary state → “estar”. Compare: “Juan está verde en matemáticas”.

“Ser un melón” is a colloquial way to say “to be a bit dumb / silly”. It’s a characteristic of a person, a stable trait → we use “ser”. Reminder of the ser/estar split by meaning: “ser” → traits, “estar” → states.

“Hecho polvo” describes a state → it goes with “estar”: “estoy hecho polvo”. People say this when they’re very tired / unwell (super typical in Spain). For “ser/estar”: temporary states → “estar”.

Correct: “estar pez en + tema” (to be clueless about a subject). The structure is parallel to “estar verde en matemáticas” from the grammar example (“inexperto”).

After an exhausting day, the natural thing to say in Spanish is “estoy hecho polvo” — roughly “I’m dead / I’m wiped out”.

For a very easy exam: “fue pan comido”. This idiom with “ser” highlights a characteristic of the task (“ser” = trait / classification).