1. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 Aim: To review when to use ser or estar La cultura de todos los días – La moda 6B: Identidades e imágenes (Gramática)

2. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 Spanish has two verbs for ‘to be’: ser and estar How do you decide which to use? Ser or estar? To be or not to be…

3. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 The choice is yours… but the following points should help to remind you! Remember that ser and estar both come from Latin words… …and the Latin words give us several words in English. If you can remember the connections, it will help you to decide between ser and estar.

4. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 Ser < esse – to be Ser comes from the Latin verb esse. Esse gives us words like ‘essence’ and ‘essential’, which describe who or what somebody or something is or is made of, or what somebody or something is like. Ser is also used to tell the time and to express possession.

5. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 Ser < esse – to be So use ser as in these examples… I am a fashion designer. – Soy diseñadora. My favourite model is Spanish. – Mi modelo preferida es española. You are beautiful. – Eres hermosa. It is two o’clock. – Son las dos. You are our friends. – Sois nuestros amigos.

6. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 estar < stare – to stand So use estar as in these examples: They are at the fashion show. – Están en la pasarela. We are not tired. – No estamos cansados. She is happy with my collection. – Está contenta con mi colección. When I am in a foreign country, I study the local fashions. – Cuando estoy en un país extranjero, estudio las modas locales. You are watching a fashion programme. – Estáis mirando un programa de moda.

7. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 Ser or estar: can you decide? She is a good model. –... una modelo buena. They are at the Madrid fashion show. – … en la pasarela de Madrid. It is nine o’clock. – … las nueve. She is very sad. – … muy triste. The show is ending. – La pasarela se … terminando.

8. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 Ser or estar: can you decide? She is a good model. – Es una modelo buena. They are at the Madrid fashion show. – Están en la pasarela de Madrid. It is nine o’clock. – Son las nueve. She is very sad. – Está muy triste. The show is ending. – La pasarela se está terminando.

9. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 Ser or estar: can you decide? He is married to a model. – … casado con una modelo. We are photographers. – … fotógrafos. Gianni Versace is dead. – Gianni Versace … muerto. Dolce and Gabbana are Italian. – Dolce y Gabbana … italianos. Fashion is an important industry. – La moda … una industria importante.

10. AQA Spanish AS Level © Nelson Thornes 2008 Ser or estar: can you decide? He is married to a model. – Está casado con una modelo. We are photographers. – Somos fotógrafos. Gianni Versace is dead. – Gianni Versace está muerto. Dolce and Gabbana are Italian. – Dolce y Gabbana son italianos. Fashion is an important industry. – La moda es una industria importante.