Notes: Ser vs. Estar 30 septiembre 2008 Ser and Estar are two very important verbs in Spanish. They both mean “to be.” Other forms of the verb “to be” include: am, is, are, was, were. In order to know which verb to use, we have to look at what the sentence is trying to tell us. There are 5 conjugations (forms) of Ser and 5 conjugations of Estar.

30 septiembre 2008 Yo- soy (I am) Tú- eres (you fam. are) Él- es (he is) Ella- es (she is) Ud.- es (you f.s. are) Ser (to be) Nosotros- somos (we are) Ellos- son (they are) Ellas- son (they are) Uds.- son (you all are) Estar (to be) Yo- estoy (I am) nosotros- estamos (we are) Tú- estás (you fam. are) Él- está (he is) Ellos- están (they are) Ella- está (she is) Ellas- están (they are) Ud. está (you f.s. are) Uds.- están (you all are)

How you feel and where you are always take the verb ESTAR! 30 septiembre 2008 When do I use Ser? 1. Physical Descriptions/Characteristics (fat, tall, intelligent,pretty, ugly) 2. Time/Date/Days (It is 1:39/Today’s date is the 30th of September/Today is Tuesday) 3. Material made of (The shirt is made of silk) 4. Nationality/Origin (She is American/She is from America) 5. Ownership (This dress is mine) 6. Event location (The wedding is at the church) *7 Profession/Occupation When do I use Estar? Temporary Conditions/Feelings (tired, busy, sick, sad, happy, *Death) Location (The shirt is on the table) Gerund (“-ing” on the end of a verb; walking, talking, singing) *Remember* How you feel and where you are always take the verb ESTAR!

30 septiembre 2008 Ejemplos: I am in the kitchen -estar (loc.) Yo estoy en la cocina They are from Puerto Rico -ser (org) Ellos son de Puerto Rico Tomorrow is Wednesday -ser (day) Mañana es miércoles Today, mother is tired -estar (t.c.) Hoy, ella está cansada The pants are made of cotton -ser (mmo) Los pantalones son de algodón She is tall and skinny ser (p.d) Ella es alta y delgada I am very intelligent -ser (char) Yo soy muy inteligente