Ser y Estar

Ser and Estar often cause a lot of confusion for new learners. Both verbs mean ‘to be’, and translate exactly the same. However, they cannot be used interchangeable. You must look at the context of the sentence to decide whether to use ‘ser’ o ‘estar’ as they have different uses.

First, let’s look at the verbs themselves in the present tense, as they are both irregular verbs. This means, they don’t follow the same pattern of conjugation as other, regular verbs.

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Uses of ‘Ser’

• Descriptions
• Time

If in your sentence you are describing, or talking about time, you would choose the verb ‘ser’ to express ‘to be’.

Examples:

Yo soy Susana (I am Susana).

Ella es alta (She is tall).

Nosotros somos ingleses (We are English).

Son las diez y media (It is half past ten).

Hoy es lunes (Today is Monday).

Uses of ‘Estar’

• States of being (incl. emotions)
• Location
• Continuous actions (-ing verbs)

If you are talking about a state or emotion (rather than description), where something is, or in front of an -ing ending verb, we always use ‘estar’ to express ‘to be’.

Examples:

Yo estoy triste y tú estás feliz (I am sad and you are happy).

¿Dónde estás? (Where are you?).

Estoy en mi casa (I am in my house).

Ellos están escribiendo un libro (They are writing a book).

Nosotros no estamos hablando mucho (We are not talking much).

Tip: Always consider what you are about to say next, as this usually indicates which use of ser o estar you are using in your sentence.

Practice: complete the sentences with ser o estar

1. Tú ___________ enfadado conmigo.
2. Nosotros ___________ buenos amigos.
3. Ellas no ___________ estadounidenses. _________ australianas.
4. Yo _________ de vacaciones en Perú.
5. Yo pienso que ellos __________ en Argentina esta semana.
6. Mi cumpleaños ____________ el veintiocho de agosto.
7. La ensalada _________ demasiado grande para mí.
8. La tienda _________ cerrada.
9. Tú __________ compitiendo en un maratón.
10. Vosotros ___________ muy amables.

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Answers: 1.estás. 2.somos. 3.son; son. 4.estoy. 5. están. 6. es. 7. es. 8. está. 9. estás. 10. sois.