The question here is Ser or Estar?. Both Spanish words mean To-be in English language. So where to use what and what's the difference between ser and estar? Let’s read below.
In Spanish, the verb Ser is used to describe and express different concepts ex relations which are permanent in nature. Ser is also used as per below. 1) Ser is used to Describe Someone’s Identity or Something in Nature 2) Use Ser to Describe Exact Location of an Event 3) Use Ser to Describe Relationships 4) Use Ser to Express Ownership 5) Use Ser to Talk about or Express Time 6) Use Ser to Describe Weather of a Place
Use the verb ser to describe Exactly about People or Animals or to describe Objects. You can also use ser to describe ideas and emotions.
English Ser Estar 1 I Am Yo Soy Yo Estoy
I am2 You Are Tú eres Tu estas
You are (own age group)3 He/She/It is El es El esta
He/She/It is4 They Are Ellos/Ellas/Uds. Son Ellos estan
They are5 We Are Nosotros Somos Nosotros estamos
We are6 You All Are Ustedes Son Ustedes Estan
Estar is used for refer to things which are Temporary or not in permanent state and for locations. Ser is also to be used to refer or talk about permanent states of things, or characteristics which are definite.
Ser is used to Talk about your relations with someone ie your family, Friends. You can use Ser to describe how close you are to someone by talking or expressing a relationship. Ex Brother, Grandmother, Father, Son, Sister in Law, Nephew.
Ser is used to express ownership of an object or things. You can use Ser to talk about things you own or things that belong to you. You also need to refer to Spanish Preposition De.
Ser is used to express events happened at exact time. Ex My lunch is at 2 PM Today. You have to be aware of the fact for using “es” Vs “son”. Use “es” when you talk about one o’clock however “son” is used to talk about the hours from two to twelve.
Ser is used to talk about permanent things ex London is a cold place. Es is used here meaning 'It Is'. Its hot in Dubai.
In Spanish Language, Estar is used to describe Someone's Mood or Feeling's, Someone's health, A Particular location, An ongoing actions, Or particular opinion in terms of taste or someone's appearance. Please review Examples below:
Use Estar to talk about your feelings and mood at a particular moment. Estar is also used to express health or feelings of a person at a given time.
Estar is used to talk about ongoing activity, action not permanent in nature. Estar describes progressive action ex Working, jumping, studying, helping etc.
Estar is also used to talk about taste or your opinion about food, or appearance. Ex you are looking beautiful this evening, or this chicken vindaloo is little spicy.
Use Estar to talk about location of someone or something at a particular moment.
Estar is also used to talk about weather at a specific moment ex Its windy today, its snowing this afternoon.
Both Verbs i.e Ser and Estar can be used with past participles ex "To Be". It is recommended that you should use the past participle and Ser in passive constructions while describing an action.
Observe the Key Point Below:
1 | Ser and Estar are irregular verbs. You should to learn them for correct Spanish language skill. |
2 | Both Ser and Estar actually mean's “to be” in English, but are generally used in different context and sentences. Few examples are given below. |
3 | Ser is to be used with adjectives that describe permanent qualities and/or characteristics, with nouns or pronouns suggesting you who or what somebody or something is, with time and date, and to form the passive. |
4 | Estar is to be used to talk about a particular location, of someone's health, usually with adjectives describing a change of state, and with past participles used as adjectives to describe states. |
5 | Estar is also used to form present continuous tenses. |
6 | Ser and Estar can sometimes be used with the same adjectives, but the meaning changes depending on which verb is used. |
7 | Ser and Estar are both used in a number of set phrases. |
For permanent qualities of things, use Ser however to describe temporary things Estar is used. If you are not sure which to use where, try thinking about very 'To Be' in the sentence.
Pronoun Ser Estar Meaning: to be (yo) soy estoy I am (tu) eres estas you are (el/ella/usted) es esta he/she/it is, you are (nosotros/nosotras) somos estamos we are (vosotros/vosotras) sois estais you are (ellos/ellas/ustedes) son estan they/you are
Definite and Indefinite Articles, difference in Definite and Indefinite Articles.