Ser vs. Estar: An in-depth perspective

Their conjugations are as follows:  Ser: yo soy, tú eres, él es, nosotros somos, ellos son  Estar: yo estoy, tú estás, él está, nosotros estamos, ellos están Ser and estar both mean “to be”.

SER is used for: Time Origin Profession/possession Identity Characteristics Last year we learned: ESTAR is used for: Emotion Location Feeling In general, “ser” is used to talk about things that are permanent or concrete (they don’t easily change). On the other hand, “estar” is used to talk about things that are temporary or things that can change fairly easily.

New Information: Uses of ser

 English example: I am a doctor. Spanish examples:  ¿Quiénes son Uds.?Who are you?  Somos turistas.We are tourists.  ¿Quién es ella?Who is she?  (Ella) Es mi hermana.She’s my sister. With predicate nouns and pronouns

English examples: The girl is smart. The closet is small. Spanish Examples:  El hierro es duro.  Iron is hard.  Elena es encantadora.  Elena is charming.  Es alto y fuerte, pero no es simpático.  With adjectives expressing an inherent quality or characteristic normally associated with a person or thing.

 It is possible.  Es posible.  It is important.  Es importante.  It is necessary to study.  Es necesario estudiar.  It’s a pity.  Es una lástima. In most impersonal expressions

In order to denote origin, material or ownership Spanish-speaking people use the expression “ser de”.  La puerta es de madera.  The door is wooden.  Son de España.  They are from Spain.  ¿De quién es? Es del profesor.  Whose is it? It is the teacher’s. To denote origin, material or ownership

 ¿Dónde es la fiesta?  Where is the party (taking place)?  La escena es en Madrid.  The scene is in Madrid. When “to be” equals “to take place”.

 joven/viejo   rico/pobre   feliz/infeliz  Certain adjectives

New Information: Uses of estar

 Madrid está en España.   ¿Cómo están Uds.?   El café está frío y el pan está duro.  To express location or condition of a person or thing

 ¿Está el señor García?Is Mr. García in?  Lo siento, pero no está ahora. I’m sorry, but not right now. Used in the sense of “to be at home” or “to be in”.

 Present progressives:  present form of estar + participle This expression translates as doing something right now; it is in progress. Imperfect progressive: Imperfect form of estar + participle This expression refers to something that was happening in the past. With the present participle to form progressive tenses.

How does one form participles??

 For –ar verbs that are regular:  Take off the “-ar” and add “-ando”.  Bailar  bail  bailando.  For –er/-ir verbs that are regular:  Take off the “-er” or “-ir” and add “-iendo”.  Comer  com  comiendo.  Escribir  escrib  escribiendo.

 Appropriate form of estar + participle of infinitive.  I am talking.  “Yo estoy hablando.”  You are eating.  “Tú estás comiendo.”  She is writing.  “Ella está escribiendo.” Forming the present progressive

 Use the imperfect form of “estar” instead of the present form. Use the participles as normal.  I was talking  Yo estaba hablando.  We were drinking milk.  Estábamos bebiendo leche. Forming the imperfect progressive