¿SER O ESTAR?

Do you know the difference between ser and estar? In Spanish, these two verbs can confuse you, but differentiating them is very easy.

Differentiating the verbs ser and estar can be a bit difficult for students of Spanish because, normally, in other languages there is neither of these verbs (for example, in Russian) or only one of them (for example, in English). ). However, in Spanish we have both and each one is used in different cases.

Next, we leave you the main uses of each of these verbs.

Verb to be

– Identification
Example: This is my sister Paula.

– Nationality
Example: Elena is from Spain.

– Permanent features
Example: The table is red.

– Descriptions
Example: The house is big and very nice.

– Definitions
Example: A bottle is a container for liquids.

– Provenance and origin
Example: This cheese is French.

– Profession
Example: You are an architect.

– Possession
Example: This computer belongs to Carmen.

– Celebration of events and events
Example: The festival is in Madrid.

– Date and Time
Example: Today is Tuesday and it is six in the afternoon.

– Shape and size
Example: The box is rectangular and small.

– Material
Example: The t-shirt is cotton.

– Rating
Example: Your bag is beautiful.

Verb to be

– Location in space
Example: Madrid is in Spain.

– Physical state or mood of people
Example: I am brown. Today I am very happy.

– state of affairs
Example: The computer is broken.

– Position
Example: Marta is lying on the sofa.

– Action in process
Example: Julio is talking on the phone.

– Temporary job
Example: I am a waitress, but I have studied medicine.

– Temporary feature
Example: The table is dirty.

– Date and season
Example: We are on Tuesday. We are in winter.

– Valuation with good and bad
Example: It is wrong to tell lies.

As you can see, it is very important to know how to differentiate the verbs to be and to be. Also, if the usage is not correct, the person you are talking to can be confused.

For example, imagine you are in a coffee shop. There is only one free table, but previous customers have spilled the coffee.
Right now the table is brown from the coffee, but really the table is white.
Its permanent characteristic is to be white, but its temporary characteristic is to be brown. The waiter cleans the table and it is no longer brown. With spilled coffee, the table is dirty, it is the current state of the table, but it is a temporary state. When the waiter cleans the table, the table is clean.

Another example. My mother is always a very active and positive person, that is, my mother is cheerful. However, today he has received some bad news and he is sad. Being happy is his permanent characteristic and being sad is his temporary characteristic. Therefore, if I tell a friend that my mother is sad, he will think that it is her permanent characteristic, that she is always negative and pessimistic. Or, on the contrary, if my mother has received bad news and I tell her that my friend is happy, my friend will think that the bad news has not affected him and she is happy at this moment when it is not.

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