SER & ESTAR/ TO BE

Both verbs, ser and estar, are equivalent to the English verb to be; however, they have very specific meanings and are NOT interchangeable. NOTE in the following examples how the meaning of a sentence changes:

·         La Miss Universo es linda./Miss Universe is pretty.

·         La Miss Universo está linda./ Miss Universe looks pretty (at this specific moment).

·         El niño es listo./ The child is smart.

·         El niño está listo./ The child is ready.

·         Mi madre es aburrida./ My mother is boring (she is a boring person).

·         Mi madre está aburrida./ My mother is bored.

·         Mi hijito es vivo./ My little son is smart.

·         Mi hijito está vivo./ My little son is alive.

 

SER / TO BE

Pronoun	Present	Past	Future	Conditional
yo/ I	soy	fui	seré	sería
tú/ you	eres	fuiste	serás	serías
él, ella, Ud./ he, she, you	es	fue	será	sería
nos./ we	somos	fuimos	seremos	seríamos
vos./you	sois	fuisteis	seréis	seríais
ellos, Uds./ they, you	son	fueron	serán	serían

 

1. Ser/ to be is used to describe essential or inherent characteristics or qualities:

Basic aspects: color, shape, material of which something is made out of, size, physical characteristics, and personality.

EXAMPLES

·         La nieve es blanca./ The snow is white.

·         La tierra es redonda./ The earth is round.

·         El saco es de lana./ The jacket is wool.

·         Yo soy alta./ I am tall.

·         Mi socio es extrovertido./ My partner is outgoing.

 

2. Possession.

EXAMPLE

·         El auto es mío./ The car is mine.

 

3. Relationship.

EXAMPLE

·         Ella es mi prima./ She is my cousin.

 

4. Profession.

EXAMPLE

·         Son cirujanos plásticos./ They are plastic surgeons.

 

5. Nationality.

EXAMPLE

·         Soy argentina./ I am Argentine.

 

6. Origin.

EXAMPLE

·         El interventor es de La Paz./ The auditor is from La Paz.

 

7. Ser/ to be is used to indicate marital status.

EXAMPLE

·         Ella es divorciada./ She is divorced.

 

8. Expressions of time and dates.

EXAMPLES

·         Es la una./ It's one o'clock.

·         Hoy es jueves./ Today is Thursday.

 

9. Events taking place.

EXAMPLE

·         La fiesta es esta noche./ The party is tonight.

 

10. Passive voice.

EXAMPLE

·         La casa fue incendiada./ The house (was) burned down.

 

11. Impersonal expressions.

EXAMPLE

·         Es imposible hablar con ellos./ It's impossible talking to them.

 

12. Noun and adjective complement (A complement completes the sentence by describing or defining the subject).

EXAMPLES

·         Mi suegra es una abuela maravillosa./ My mother-in-law is a wonderful grandma.

·         Ella es Ana./ She is Ana.

·         El compasivo es él./ The compassionate one is he. (Remember that the verb to be is transitory; therefore, he is used instead of him.)