The Verbs "Ser" and "Estar"
One of the biggest challenges for English speakers to learn in Spanish is understanding the "Ser" versus "Estar" fiasco. Both of these verbs mean "to be" in English (I am, you are, he is, she is, we are, they are); however, their uses are not interchangeable.... meaning, each verb has its own distinct uses that cannot not be shared with the other verb. Fortunately, we have some great tips that will help make learning ser and estar easier and less stressful. We will focus on the conjugations and the usage of each verb individually, and then look at some tips that will help you to know which verb to use when the time comes to use it in communication.
The verb "ser"
The first thing you will notice when you look at the conjugation forms of "ser" is that it does not follow any regular verb-conjugation pattern whatsoever. The only way to remember the conjugated forms of ser is to study and memorize them. But, you will notice that the conjugations are all short; so it shouldn't be too hard at all to do.
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The Uses of Ser
One of the things you might notice as you compare and contrast ser with estar is that the uses of ser tend to be apply to situations that are more permanent. Although this technique is not foul-proof, it does apply in most cases. Let's have a look at the uses of ser.
The easiest way to remember the uses of "ser" is to use the acroymn DOCTOR. Each letter of D.O.C.T.O.R. represents a situation in which you will use the verb ser. Let's look at what this acronym stands for, and then we'll talk more about each situation and see some examples to demonstrate it.
The easiest way to remember the uses of "ser" is to use the acroymn DOCTOR. Each letter of D.O.C.T.O.R. represents a situation in which you will use the verb ser. Let's look at what this acronym stands for, and then we'll talk more about each situation and see some examples to demonstrate it.
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A look into what each of the letters in the acroynm mean.
- Description - We use the ser verb to describe nouns and the physical nature of people. Although as we grow older, our bodies change in different ways, these changes aren't consistently changing every day. We don't bounce back and forth from day to day between being short and tall. We don't grow old, then young, and then old again. These are changes than happen gradually; therefore we can see the "permanance" in them. Thus, the reason why we use the ser verb for descriptions.
For example: La casa es roja. - The house is red. Although we can always change the color of the house, most likely than not we will not be changing the house's color often enough to implement the estar verb.
El chico es alto. - The boy is tall. The boy wasn't born tall; this is something that happened to his body over time. And he most likely will be never become short again; therefore, we use the ser verb.
El gato es blanco y white. - The cat is black and white. These are colors in which that cat's fur are naturally. Therefore, we know to use the ser verb. If we ever dye the cat's coat of fur, we will then need to use the estar verb to represent this unnatural condition of the cat's fur. - Origin - We use "ser" when saying where we and others are from originally. This doesn't necessarily mean that the person currently lives there; it means that this is where the person is originally from.
For example: Mi padre es de Italia. - My father is from Italy.
Soy de Estados Unidos. - I am from the United States.
Somos de California. - We are from California. - Characteristics - We use "ser" to tell what someone's personality traits are. But this shouldn't be confused with emotions. A "nice person" can have a "bad day" and be less than nice; in which case we would use the "estar" verb to indicate that they are temporarily not being very nice. But if their overall personality is nice; then we would use the ser verb to describe them as nice.
For example: Juan es muy inteligente. - Juan is very smart.
Catrina es una persona simpática. - Catrina is a nice person. - Time - Time is continuously happening and changing, but still, the ser verb is used when telling it. Therefore, Time is an exception to the "permanent" rule of ser.
For example: ¿Qué hora es? - What time is it?
Son las dos y media. - It's 2:30pm. - Occupation - Although most of us will work more than one job in our lifetime, occupations are generally something that we don't change day-to-day. Therefore, we know to us the ser verb when telling of one's job and profession.
For example: Mi papá es medico. - My dad is a doctor.
Soy un profesor de español. - I am a Spanish teacher. - Relationship - Although relationships can become strained or may even end, relationships usually tend to last a long time (more than just a day or so). Your parents will always be your parents, even if they are deceased or you disown them. You and your significant other may someday part ways, but chances are the relationship will last for at least a minumum amount of time. Therefore, we can see the "permanent" aspect of relationships and confidently choose the ser verb to describe them.
For example: Ella es mi novia. - She is my girlfriend.
Soy el hijo de inmigrantes mexicanos. - I am the son of Mexican immigrants.
Señora Cho es mi profesora. - Mrs.Cho is my teacher.
The verb "estar"
The conjugations for estar follow a pretty similar pattern as any regular -ar verb with with exceptions. The most obvious difference is in the verb's first person singular, which is "estoy". The second difference is the addition of accents over the conjugation forms estás, está, and están. These inclusion of these accents is imperative because the meaning of some of these words change when written without the accent. For example, leaving the accent off of the word estás would form estas, which means "these" in Spanish. And "está" means "this" if written as esta (without the accent). So be sure to include the accents when writing these words. Notice that estoy and estamos both do not get accents.
yo |
estoy |
nosotros nosotras |
estamos |
tú |
estás |
vosotros vosotras |
estáis |
él ella usted |
está |
ellos ellas ustedes |
están |
The Uses of Estar
We mentioned that the verb ser is used for situations that tend to be permanent in most cases. The verb estar, on the otherhand, is used for situations that tend to be temporary and/or that change frequently. The acroynm W.E.L.C.H. can help us to remember the situations in which we should use the estar verb.
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Let's explore each of these uses for a deeper understanding of how and why we are using estar.
- Weather - Weather conditions are always changing. Daytime might be sunny while at nighttime it may be cloudy. Because of this constant changing, we know that estar is the right verb to use because of its uses are mostly temporary.
Example: Está nublado en San Francisco esta mañana. - It's cloudy in San Francisco this morning.
Está soleado hoy en Nueva York. - It's sunny today in New York.
Necesito la paraaguas porque está lloviendo. - I need the umbrella because it's raining. - Emotions - People's emotions are ever-changing. One minute we could bright-eyed and bushy tailed while the next we could be tired and needing a nap. A person who is genuinely happy and kind might have a miserable day in which they are anything but pleasant. Because emotions are temporary, we use the estar verb to indicate them.
For example: Mi madre está enojada porque mi hermano no hizo sus quehaceres. - My mother is angry because my brother didn't do his choirs.
Estoy alegre porque hoy es sábado y no tengo que trabajar. - I'm happy because today is Saturday and I don't have to go to work. - Location - we use estar to indicate the location of people, places, objects and things.
Example: El lápiz está en la mesa. - The pencil is on the table.
El niño está en su dormitorio. - The child is in his bedroom.
* Here is where the general rule of estar being "temporary" is broken. We use estar to indicate the location of places, which, of course, are never moved nor do they move themselves.
For example: Atlanta está en Georgia. - Atlanta is in Georgia.
Nueva Jersey está en los Estados Unidos. - New Jersey is in the United States.
* Here's another oddity about "Location". If we are saying where a party or event is, we have to use the verb ser instead of estar.
For example: La fiesta es en la casa de Mike. - The party is at Mike's house.
La graduación es en el gimnasio. - The graduation is in the gym.
It may take some getting used to with these two exceptions; but don't sweat it. Saying them enough will make the uses come naturally to you. - Conditions - Conditions of things are generally temporary and can be changed (whether intentionally or not). Therefore, we use the estar to describe conditions of things.
For example: La puerta está abierta. - The door is open. (A door might also be found opened; therefore, the condition of the door being open can reflect that the condition is temporary and we will use the estar verb.)
La ventana está rota. - The window is broken. (We are describing the condition of the window in its broken state; therefore, we need to use the estar verb.)
*** Now, think about the following two examples. Before reading the answer, see if you can figure out on your own the difference in meaning between these two sentences: one using the estar verb to describe the condition of the store and the other using the ser verb to say the same thing (but, of course, with a different meaning):
La tienda está cerrada. - The store is closed. (hint: using estar gives a "temporary" meaning to the adjective "closed")
La tienda es cerrada. - The store is closed. (hint: using ser gives a "permanent" meaning to the adjective "closed")
Here's the answer. In the first sentence, the meaning of "está cerrada" means that the store is temporary closed. Perhaps it's past store hours and all of the employees went home for the evening. In the second sentence, "es cerrada" indicates a permanent closure; perhaps the store is closed down and is out-of-business. - Health - People get sick, unfortunately. But if its not a chronic illness, we use estar to show that the illness is only temporary.
For example: El chico está enfermo. - The boy is sick. (This indicates that, perhaps, the boy has a cold, or the flu, or something that isn't chronic and he will soon be feeling health again.
El chico es enfermo. - The boy is sick. (This indicates that the boy has a chronic illness; something bigger than just a cold or an upset stomach. He may be dealing with something serious.) -