Spanish A1: ser vs estar — two verbs for 'to be', and the line between them
Spanish splits 'to be' into ser and estar. The usual advice — permanent versus temporary — breaks immediately. Here is the line that actually holds.
English has one verb for to be. Spanish has two, and choosing wrongly changes what you said.
You will be told ser is permanent, estar is temporary. Drop that now: Está muerto (he is dead) is estar, and nothing is more permanent.
ser says what something is. estar says how or where it is.
Identity and definition on one side; condition and location on the other.
ser — what it is | estar — how/where it is |
|---|---|
| Soy profesor. (I'm a teacher) | Estoy cansado. (I'm tired) |
| Es de Madrid. (He's from Madrid) | Está en Madrid. (He's in Madrid) |
| Somos cuatro. (There are four of us) | Estamos listos. (We're ready) |
| La mesa es de madera. (It's wooden) | La mesa está sucia. (It's dirty) |
| Son las tres. (It's three o'clock) | Está lloviendo. (It's raining) |
| ser | estar | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | soy | estoy |
| tú | eres | estás |
| él / ella / usted | es | está |
| nosotros | somos | estamos |
| vosotros | sois | estáis |
| ellos / ustedes | son | están |
Both are irregular; both are worth memorising today, because you cannot build a sentence without one of them.
- Identity — Soy Ana. Es mi hermano.
- Origin and material — Es de Perú. Es de algodón.
- Time and date — Son las ocho. Hoy es martes.
- Events happening — La fiesta es en mi casa. (an event takes place; a thing is located)
That last one catches people: La fiesta es en mi casa but La cocina está en mi casa.
- Location of a thing — Está en la mesa.
- Physical or emotional state — Estoy enfermo. Está triste.
- Progressive tenses — Estoy comiendo. (always estar)
- Result of a change — La puerta está abierta. Está muerto.
This is where the two verbs stop being grammar and start being vocabulary.
| Adjective | with ser | with estar |
|---|---|---|
| aburrido | boring | bored |
| listo | clever | ready |
| rico | wealthy | delicious |
| verde | green (colour) | unripe |
| bueno | good (a good person) | tasty / attractive |
| vivo | lively, sharp | alive |
Learn these six. They are the ones that will embarrass you.
Before you choose, ask: am I saying what it is, or how it is right now?
- La sopa ___ fría. — how it is → está fría (the soup has gone cold)
- El gazpacho ___ frío. — what it is → es frío (gazpacho is a cold soup, by definition)
Same adjective. Different verb. Different sentence.
Originally published on dev.to