Page 258Realidades 1

The verbs SER and ESTAR

SER VS. ESTAR You already know the verb

ESTAR. It means “to be.” You also already know the verb

SER. It also means “to be.” Both verbs are irregular and

you should have already memorized their conjugations.

ESTARYo estoy

Tú estás

Ud.

Él está

Ella

Nosotros estamos

Uds.

Ellos están

Ellas

SERYo soy

Tú eres

Ud.

Él es

Ella

Nosotros somos

Uds.

Ellos son

Ellas

SER VS. ESTAR There are certain occasions

in which you will use either SER or ESTAR.

Let’s review ESTAR first!

ESTAR Used for telling LOCATION

(of people, places and things).

For example:

ESTAREl libro está en la mesa.The book is on the table.Yo estoy en Guatemala.I am in Guatemala.La Habra está en California.La Habra is in California.

ESTAR Used to tell CONDITION .

For example:

ESTAR

Eduardo está ocupado.

Eduardo is busy.

Ana y Luisa están enfermas.

Ana and Luisa are sick.

ESTAR Used to describe EMOTIONS.

For example:

ESTAR

Marta está triste.

Marta is sad.

Juan y Pedro están contentos.

Juan and Pedro are happy.

Ok, now let’s see when we usethe verb SER.

SER Used to tell TIME and DATE.

Son las dos y media.

It is two thirty.

Es el veinte de noviembre.

It is the twentieth of November.

SER Used to tell NATIONALITY. For example: Yo soy americana. I am American. Él es puertorriqueño. He is Puerto Rican.

SER Used to tell WHERE SOMEONE OR

SOMETHING IS FROM.

Tú eres de Nicaragua.

You are from Nicaragua.

Ellas son de Nueva York.

They are from New York.

SER Used to connect a noun or pronoun to

another noun or pronoun (identity). Eduardo es un hombre.

Eduardo is a man. (Eduardo hombre) Coquí y Sultán son gatos. Coquí and Sultán are cats. (Coquí and Sultán gatos)

SER Used to describe CHARACTERISTICS (what someone or something is like) Rebeca es alta. Rebeca is tall. Enrique y yo somos guapos. Enrique and I are good-looking. El coche es pequeño y rojo. The car is small and red.

SER You CANNOT use “un or una” with

SER when describing someone’s profession.

Yo soy profesora.

Tú eres estudiante.

SER VS. ESTAR There are other uses for ser and estar and

you will need to know them as you continue your studies in Spanish.

Memorize these acronyms to help you.

SER = DO IT D = Description (Soy deportista.)

& Date (Es el 25 de febrero) O = Origin (Ella es de Madrid.)

I = Identity (La Sra. López es profesora.)

(Yo soy Marta.)

Ella es mexicana. T = Time (Es la una.)

(Son las tres y media de la tarde.)

ESTAR = HELP H = Health (Estoy enfermo.) E = Emotions (Nosotros estamos tristes.) L = Location (Madrid está en

España.) P = Present progressive tense

( You will learn this verb tense in Section 6B.)