Ser vs. Estar
For many people just learning Spanish, Ser and Estar are two verbs that cause much confusion and frustration. Both roughly translate into English as "To be". The question is, when to use which? Let's take a look at a few sentences and their differences.
- Estoy feliz. I feel happy. Soy feliz. I am happy by nature.
- Estoy cansado. I feel tired. Soy cansado. I am a tired person.
- La manzana está verde. The apple is unripe. La manzana es verde. The apple is green.
Ser is generally used to speak of things that are permanent. Soy hombre I am a male, Eres Canadiense you are Canadian, Él es de Oaxaca He is from Oaxaca. The major exceptions to this are geography and time. To say the time is 3:00, one would say "Son las tres". To say that Oregon is north of California, one would say "Oregon está norte de California".
Estar is generally used to speak of things that are temporary. Estoy en casa I'm at home, Estas en escuela you're in school, Estan perdidos They are lost. The exceptions to this rule usually use the verb Tener. Some exceptions would be: Tengo sed I'm thirsty, Tienes frio? Are you cold?, Tenemos hambre We're hungry.
«Back | Next»