Ser o estar ?

Hola a todos!

Today we are going to explain clearly and briefly the verb To Be in Spanish. Probably this is one of the most important (and confusing ) things to learn when your start learning Spanish.

First of all it is essential to know  that in Spanish we have 2 different verbs to be, SER and ESTAR and we use each one of them depending on the circumstance or meaning involved.

Once we have clear the fact that both SER and ESTAR are translated in English as the verb TO BE, I will show you when to use them.

Basically the verb SER is used in the following cases:

1)With nouns and prepositions:

Profesión:  Soy recepcionista - I am a receptionist
Nacionalidad : Juan es inglés - Juan is English
Origen: Tú eres de Mallorca - You are from Mallorca
Material; El reloj es de oro - The watch is(made) of gold.

2)With Adjectives ( for permanent, essential qualities)

La casa es vieja    The house is old
El hotel es moderno- The hotel is modern
Miguel es simpático -Miguel is nice
María es baja - María is short
Barcelona es grande - Barcelona is big

As you see we basically use the verb SER for permanent or long term situations.

Now let´s see when we use the verb ESTAR in Spanish

 1)With prepositions (Indicating location or situation)

Barcelona está en el Este de España-  Barcelona is in the east of Spain
Mi amigo no está en casa- Mi friend is not at home
El colegio está en las montañas- The school is in the mountains
Dónde está Vigo? Where is Vigo?

2)With adjectives ( indicating transitory, temporary or accidental states, things that can change or are the result of change, state of health or mood)

La habitación está sucia - The room is dirty
Él está enfermo - He is ill
Miguel está triste- Miguel is sad

In general terms we can say, with some exceptions, that the verb SER is used for permanent or long term states and the verb ESTAR for location and temporary states.

I hope this helps or at least It does not confuse you more:).

Here I leave you a bit of Spanish to enjoy!

"Si quieres aprender español en Liverpool, acércate a nuestra oficina en el centro de la ciudad y pregúntanos que cursos hay disponibles. Personalmente, como profesor de español en Liverpool considero mi trabajo como una oportunidad única para compartir una de mis lenguas maternas y un poco de la diversa y plurinacional cultura de España".

Saludos  y salud


Javier

Profesor de español en Yo Spanish Liverpool
www.yospanishschool.co.uk