Ser Verse Estar
  • Hope July 2012
    I learned today that Estar and Ser are both used for To Be and that Estar is used when talking about location. I also know that :
     

    Yo Soy = I have
    Tu Eres= You have
    El/Ella/Ed = He has, she has, and you have (polite)
    Nosotros Somos= We have
    Vosotros Sois = you all
    Ellos,Ellas, Eds = they all

    is used for Ser. With that said, what I don't know is what does

    Yo Estoy =
    Tu Estas =
    El/Ella/Ed = 
    Nosotros Estamos = 
    Vosotros Estais =
    Ellos/Ellas/Eds Estan =

    Mean? and how are they used differently from Ser?
  • Christopher July 2012
    Hi again, Hope. I'm not the Spanish eTutor, so I'll let her answer after I attempt to answer! But let me try to shed some light. The forms of ser that you have above aren't "have", but rather "am, is, are." (yo soy = I am.)
    Estar also means "be." But they're used for different types of "being." For things that are more or less permanent, you'd use ser:
    Yo soy un hombre. (I am a man.)
    Yo soy mexicano. (I am Mexican.)
    For things that are are less permanent, estar is used (locations, emotions, physical conditions, for example).
    Yo estoy en mexico. (I am in Mexico.)
    Yo estoy enfermo. (I am sick.)
    So both of your lists above would be translated in English with forms of "be." English doesn't make this distinction that Spanish does. (Okay, sometimes it does, in ways that are a bit beyond the conversation: There are (available) teachers (available.) vs. There are (good) teachers (*[ungrammatical] good.) But that's getting a bit too deep into linguistics!
    I'll let Anna give a better answer than I could, though!
    Best, Chris

  • Anna July 2012
    Hello Hope!

    Ser and Estar are two different verbs in Spanish. Ser and Estar both mean "to be" in English. However, as Christopher said, we use Ser for certain types of "being" and we use Estar for other certain types of "being".


    1. VERBO SER

    The verb ser is used to express a description, a nationality, or an occupation—something that’s permanent or lasts for a while.

    Presente simple - SER
    Yo soy
    Tú eres
    Él/Ella/ Usted es
    Nosotros somos
    Vosotros sóis
    Ellos/Ellas/ Ustedes son

    Examples SER:

    Yo soy Española - We use ser, becase we mean "to be" and we describe nationality.

    Tú eres la estudiante - We use ser because we mean "to be" and we describe an occupation.

    Ella es la profesora - We use ser because we mean "to be" and we describe an occupation.


    2. VERBO ESTAR

    The verb estar is used to express location and feelings, which tend to change more quickly.

    Presente simple - ESTAR

    Yo estoy
    Tú estás
    Él/Ella/ Usted está
    Nosotros estamos
    Vosotros estáis
    Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes están

    Examples ESTAR:

    Yo estoy en casa - We use estar, becase we mean "to be" and we describe location.

    Tú estás en la escuela     - We use estar, becase we mean "to be" and we describe location.

    Here you can find the difference between ser y estar in our Spanish online course: http://www.livinglanguage.com/course/module/1301 and some exercises to practice more.

    Please let me know if you have more questions!



  • Christopher July 2012
    Thanks for the great explanation, Anna! 

    And Hope, you can practice ser and estar in Lessons 3 and 4 of Essential. There's a Fill-In Game that practices the difference.
  • Anna July 2012
    ¡Hola otra vez!

    The verb SER is also used to tell time in Spanish. Telling the time is very simple and involves the ver ser and the numbers.

    Profesor - ¿Qué hora es?
    Estudiante - Es la una de la tarde en Nueva York.
    Profesor - Son las diez en California.

    Use singular es when referring to "one o'clock" and use plural son when referring to all other hours. Es la una de la tarde / Son las dos de la tarde.


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