Talking about ages in general terms

Question

Hello!When using phrases like, "The boy is still little." or "The girl is not little any more.", would one use a form of estar, or would a form or ser be used? Thank you for your help.Susan

Answer

Hola Susan
In that context we tend to use ser more than estar:

El niño todavía es pequeño.
The boy is still little.
La niña ya no es pequeña.
The girl is not little any more.

We take this as a description of a person, the same way we'd say "es alta", "es rubio", "es pequeño" ... But you may hear it using "estar" too; this is when we are talking about something a bit more specific and generally as a comparison, for example:

Este niño está muy pequeño para irse a la cama tan tarde.
This boy is very little for having such a late bedtime.
Carmen está muy pequeña para su edad.
Carmen is very small for her age.

Saludos
Inma