Ser & Estar I & II

Ser & Estar I

Ser & Estar I:Review

Introduction

There are two verbs that can signify “to be” in Spanish

SER

ESTAR

SER and ESTAR are contrasted and have a variety of uses and meanings.

Uses of SER

1. with “de” to describe origin or possession:

Soy de Chicago.

I am from Chicago

Ella es de los Estados Unidos.

She is from the United States.

Uses of SER

2. with “de” to describe possession

La mochila es de Elena.

The backpack is Elena’s.

El libro es de nosotros.

That is our book.

Uses of SER

3. with “de” to describe what something is made of.

La chaqueta es de algodón.

The jacket is cotton.

Las enchiladas son de pollo.

The enchiladas are chicken.

Uses of SER

4. before adjectives to indicate condition that doesn’t result from change: nationality, age, physical attributes, personality, religion and color.

Mis amigos son españolas. My friends are Spanish.

El presidente es joven. The president is young.

Carlos es alto y rubio. Carlos is tall and blond.

Nora es inteligente. Nora is intelligent.

Mis primos son graciosos. My cousins are funny.

Las señoras son católicas. The women are catholic.

El coche es azul. The car is blue.

Uses of SER

5. with professions:

Soy estudiante.

I am a student.

Ellos son hombres de negocios.

They are businessmen.

Uses of SER

6. to express times, dates, days of the week:

Son las seis de la tarde.

It’s six o’clock in the evening.

Hoy es lunes.

Today is Monday.

Uses of SER

7. to indicate where an event regularly takes place:

La conferencia es en el auditorio.

The conference takes place in the auditorium. (habit, not necessarily currently)

La clase de español es en el aula dos.

The Spanish class is in room two. (habit, not necessarily currently)

Uses of ESTAR

1. with a preposition “a, en etc.” to express current location of objects and persons:

Estamos en la clase.

El libro está al lado de la mesa.

*use QUEDAR to refer only to inanimate objects (places).

Uses of ESTAR

2. With the progressive construction (-ndo).

El profesor está hablando con la estudiante.

The professor is speaking with the student.

Uses of ESTAR

3. to express physical and emotional state of being or present/ resultant condition (past participle):

ESTAR + past participle/adjective

El proyector está roto.

The projector is broken

Yo estoy cansada.

I am tired.

SER & ESTAR II

Changes in meaning

In general we know that using…

SER

denotes a more or less permanent state, expressions for time, origin, location of events and identifying descriptions.

ESTAR

denotes, current and/or resultant states, location of nouns, and actions in progress; “the effect of the cause”

However…

SER and ESTAR are not mutually exclusive…

That is, with certain adjectives both SER and ESTAR can be use along with it.

The result is that the adjective takes on different connotations depending on the verb that precedes it.

Examples…

SER ESTAR

El hombre es aburrido.

The man is boring.

El hombre está aburrido.

The man is bored.

Ella es lista.

She is clever.

Ella está lista.

She is ready. (prepared)

El café no es bueno.

Coffee is not good. (unhealthy)

El café no está bueno.

Coffee isn’t good. (tastes bad)

More examples…

SER ESTAR

Eres muy bonita.

You are pretty.

Estás bonita.

You look pretty. (today)

Ella es fea.

She is ugly. (personality)

Ella está fea.

She looks ugly.

Somos divertidos.

We are funny.

Estamos divertidos.

We are amused.

More examples…

SER ESTAR

Eres muy guapa.

You are good looking.

Estás guapa.

You are good-looking. (today)

La manzana es verde.

The apple is green.

La manzana está verde.

The apple is not ripe.

Somos vivos.

We are smart.

Estamos vivos.

We are alive.

Describing food…

When describing food using SER and ESTAR becomes a little tricky.

SER + adjective

describes inherent or naturally occurring qualities.

ESTAR + adjective

describes qualities not naturally occurring or resultant qualities

Examples…

SER ESTAR

La toronja es agria.

The grapefruit is sour.

La salsa está agria.

The sauce tastes sour.

El jalapeño es picante.

The jalepeño is spicy.

Las patatas están picantes.

The potatoes taste spicy.

The past participle

The past participle can be used as an adjective.

They usually are preceded by ESTAR, because they describe current condition.

When this occurs the past participle must agree with the noun it is describing.

Examples…

ESTAR

El proyector está roto.

The projector is broken.

(ROMPER = roto/a)

La cámara está rotatambién.

The camera is broken too.

Ella está cansada.

She is tired.

(CANSAR = cansado/a)

Ellas están cansadastambién.

They are tired too.

Some past participle/adjectives and their infinitives

ABURRIRSE aburrido/a bored

CANSARSE cansado/a tired

CASARSE (CON) casado/a (con) married (to)

ENAMORARSE enamorado/a (de) in love (with)

PREOCUPARSE preocupado/a worried

ENOJARSE enojado/a angry

OCUPARSE (DE) ocupado/a busy

ENFERMARSE enfermo/a sick

ENTRISTECERSE triste sad

Pitfalls…

Not all adjectives can be used interchangeably with SER and ESTAR.

Be careful of what you mean to say when using adjectives with SER and ESTAR.

There are special circumstance when describing food.

Make sure all adjectives agree.