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Courses, dictionaries, ideas and travel for learners of Spanish and English. Click here... |
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Cursos, diccionarios, ideas y viajes para los estudiantes de inglés y español. Entra aquí... |
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| The 'ser' / 'estar' rule suggests that SER is used with the way things usually are by nature... |
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| Man is mortal |
El hombre es mortal |
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compared with |
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Man is still in the Stone Age |
El hombre está todavía en la Edad de Piedra |
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So with SER we have phrases like... |
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What is your mother like? |
¿Cómo es tu madre? |
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He's very short |
Es muy bajito |
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Slugs are different from snails |
Las babosas son diferentes de los caracoles |
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Politics is rubbish |
La política es basura |
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Your blouse is very pretty |
Tu blusa es muy bonita |
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We use SER usually when the subject is expressed by a noun...(i.e. that one thing is another).. |
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Carmen is a woman |
Carmen es una mujer |
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Madrid is the capital of Spain |
Madrid es la capital de España |
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He's a teacher |
Es profesor |
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She's a lawyer |
Es abogada |
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You're a pig! |
Eres un cerdo |
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It's half past one / It's two o'clock |
Es la una y media / Son las dos |
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It has been a hot year |
Ha sido un año caluroso |
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If we used ESTAR with a noun it would mean that thing/person is there... |
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The policeman is there |
Está el policía |
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So, we use SER when the subject is expressed by a pronoun, which is a noun... |
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Your book is this one |
Tu libro es éste |
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...and by an infinitive... |
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Love is power |
Querer es poder |
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Also with some expressions "es + que"... |
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It will be better if you come / It would be better if you came |
Es mejor que vengas / Sería mejor que vinieras |
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It's important that you do it |
Es importante que lo hagas |
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It's that which bothers me |
Es esto lo que me preocupa |
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But with these exceptions use ESTAR... |
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It's good that... |
Está bien que... |
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It's bad that... |
Está mal que... |
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It has been shown that... |
Está demostrado que... |
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SER can be used with adjectives that can be thought as changeable... |
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He's a poor old man |
Es un viejo pobre |
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They're very rich |
Son ricos |
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I'm innocent |
Soy inocente |
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They're all guilty |
Son culpables todos |
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Carmen isn't happy today |
Carmen no es feliz hoy |
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My wife is very faithful |
Mi esposa es muy fiel |
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He was an unhappy man |
Era un hombre desgraciado |
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He's very aware of his responsibilities |
Es muy consciente de sus responsabilidades |
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However there are exceptions and it is possible to hear the following especially when there is emphasis on a non-permanent quality... |
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She is poor / rich / happy eg. |
Está pobre / rico / feliz (we always say 'está contenta') |
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Now I'm as poor as a church mouse |
Ahora estoy más pobre que una rata |
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I've been so happy lately |
Últimamente estoy tan feliz |
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If this explanation is still not clear, it is because there are regional and national differences to the use of SER and ESTAR with those adjectives just mentioned. eg. In Spain I rarely hear 'estoy feliz'. |
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Normally 'estar rico' is used in the following context... |
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What a delicious cake! |
¡Qué tarta más rica! |
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When talking about possession we always use SER.... |
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The car's mine |
El coche es mío |
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That house was yours |
Esa casa era tuya |
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SER to express our thoughts about things... |
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That's very interesting |
Eso es muy interesante |
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Things are different now |
Todo me es distinto ahora |
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SER for places of events |
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Where's the concert / party? |
¿Dónde es el concierto / fiesta? |
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The conference is in Cordova this year. |
La conferencia es en Córdoba este año |
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but, of course... |
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| Where's my shoe? |
¿Dónde está mi zapato? |
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| So when situations are not as they should be or as they are normally (by nature), we use ESTAR... |
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He hasn't been well this week |
No ha estado bien esta semana |
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My car is broken down |
Mi coche está estropeado |
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The machine is out of order. |
La máquina está fuera de servicio |
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La cerveza inglesa está caliente |
English beer is warm |
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He is never sad. |
Nunca está triste. |
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Estoy en un apuro |
I'm in a fix. (I've got problems) |
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Expressions 'ESTAR DE...' and ESTAR CON...' are common in Spanish... |
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He's on holiday |
Está de vacaciones |
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She's in a bad mood |
Está de mal humor |
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I've got a cold |
Estoy con un resfriado |
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It is important to differentiate between the following... |
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What does she look like? / What is she like? (description) |
¿Cómo es (ella)? |
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How is she today? (health) |
¿Cómo está (ella) hoy? |
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The verb is wrong; you should use ESTAR not SER |
El verbo es incorrecto; hay que emplear ESTAR no SER |
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It's spelt wrong; CORRER has got two 'R's |
Está mal escrito; CORRER tiene dos 'R'. |
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If we do not refer to events, then use ESTAR to talk about where things are... |
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He's in the car |
Está en el coche |
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We're in the park |
Estamos en el parque |
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I'm at the end of my tether |
Estoy en los últimos |
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I'm on the dole |
Estoy en el paro |
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Spanish often prefers ESTAR to talk about travel instead of IR |
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I've never been to Portugal ('been to' verb of movement (from 'go') |
Nunca he estado en Portugal (not 'a' Portugal) |
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Depending on whether we use SER or ESTAR meaning can change...(beware!) |
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She's a good girl |
Es una chica muy buena |
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She's really sexy! |
¡Está muy buena! |
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I'm bored |
Estoy aburrido |
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He's boring |
Es aburrido / Es pesado |
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She's conscious (not fainted) |
Está consciente |
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She's aware of the point you're making. |
Es consciente de lo que pretendes decir |
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He's really with it! |
¡Está vivo! |
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He's alive (not dead) |
Está vivo |
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He's a dirty old man |
Es un viejo verde |
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The apple is green (unripe) |
La manzana está verde |
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| Grass is usually green |
La hierba normalmente es verde |
