Ser and Estar - Use and Present Tense Flashcards
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Personality Characteristics
Like physical attributes, personalities do change from time to time. However, people tend to behave and react to life pretty much the same one day to the next. (Don’t confuse personality with moods, which can and do change quickly.)
ser
Ella es amable.
She is nice.
Ustedes son cómicos.
You all are funny.
Eres cortés.
You are polite.
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Profession
It’s true that many people change jobs, and even careers, several times in their lives. However, one generally does not accept a job offer only to turn around and write a letter of resignation. A person who is employed, even part-time, takes on aspects of that position as another personality characteristic.
ser
Judge Judy es abogada.
Judge Judy is a lawyer.
Heidi Klum y Tyson Beckford son modelos.
Heidi Klum and Tyson Beckford are models.
Ustedes son estudiantes.
All of you are students.
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Location
To give the location of anything, use estar. Whether it is short-term (“I am in the shower.”) or permanent (“Paris is in France.”), if it’s location you’re dealing with, your verb is estar.
estar
Yo estoy en el comedor.
I am in the dining room.
¿Dónde estás tú?
Where are you?
¿Dónde está Londres?
Where is London?
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Origin
One’s origin is an unchangeable fact, one of the few truly permanent aspects of one’s life. It does not matter where you live now. If you were born in Minnesota, you will always be from Minnesota.
ser
Yo soy de Minnesota.
I am from Minnesota.
¿De dónde eres tú?
Where are you from?
Boris es de Transylvania.
Boris is from Transylvania.
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Nationality
Nationality, like origin, can never be denied. However, one’s origin and nationality can be different. Thus, one could say, Yo soy de los Estados Unidos (“I’m from the US”), indicating origin and also say, Yo soy francés (“I am French”), indicating nationality.
ser
Gabriel García Márquez es colombiano.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is Colombian.
Los principes William y Harry son ingleses.
Princes William and Harry are English.
Perez Hilton es cubano-americano.
Perez Hilton is Cuban-American.
Conjugate in the present tense.
estar
(to be)
estar
- Yo estoy
- Tu estás
- Ud. está
- El, Ella está
- Nosotros estamos
- Uds. están
- Ellos, ellas están
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Unnatural Color or Condition
When describing things that aren’t in their natural state, use estar.
- When you’re very sick, your face turns green.
- Meat that is old turns gray.
- Bananas turn black.
- Old newspapers turn yellow.
estar
El cielo está gris.
The sky is gray.
Esta nieve está amarilla.
This snow is yellow.
Las manos están sucias.
Her hands are dirty.
Él está feo con esos pantalones.
He is ugly in those pants.
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Date and Time
Though time seems fleeting, it is still the case that “now” is “now”. Giving the date is actually stating identification. Giving the time is also a statement of identification.
ser
Hoy es el veintiséis de septiembre.
Today is September 26.
Mañana es sábado.
Tomorrow is Saturday.
¿Qué hora es?
What time is it?
Son las tres de la mañana.
It’s 3:00 am.
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Relationships - Familial
These are blood relationships, such as parents, siblings, cousins, etc., and even though these relationships may sometimes be volatile, they do endure, due to their origin if nothing else.
ser
Ellos son mis padres.
They are my parents.
Ustedes son mis hermanos.
You are my brothers.
Ella es mi hermana.
She is my sister.
Conjugate in the present tense.
ser
(to be)
ser
- Yo soy
- Tu eres
- Ud. es
- El, ella es
- Nosotros somos
- Uds. son
- Ellos, ellas son
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Possession
What’s yours is yours and nobody can take it from you. Even as you write your will, the house and all its priceless knickknacks are still yours. Just because you can’t take them with you doesn’t mean they aren’t yours until you go!
ser
La casa es mía.
The house is mine.
El cristal es mío.
The crystal is mine.
Nada aquí es tuyo.
Nothing here is yours.
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Result of Action
Use estar to express the condition of something or someone after an action has been completed. If you have just sat down, it means that you are sitting (or seated). Soon you may stand up, which means you are standing. If you are studying this in church, you may kneel at any minute, and then you will be kneeling. Even being dead, which is about as enduring as it gets, takes estar, for it is the result of having lived.
estar
Estoy sentado.
I am sitting./I am seated.
Estás de pie.
You are standing.
Ella está de rodillas.
She is kneeling.
La mosca está muerta.
The fly is dead.
Estos televisores están rotos.
These television sets are broken.
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Physical Attributes
Aspects of one’s body are not to be taken lightly: They go everywhere with a person–they are not changed by location or how one feels. Even though hair color goes from brown to gray and beauty sometimes fades, these changes do not occur overnight. They are considered enduring.
ser
Yo soy alto.
I am tall.
Rizitos de Oro es rubia.
Goldilocks is blonde.
Ellso son delgados.
They are slim.
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Physical Condition
Like your moods, how you feel physically also changes from day to day: One day you feel fit and hearty, the next day you’re sick as a dog.
estar
Ella está bien.
She is fine.
Estamos enfermos.
We are sick.
Ellos están cansados.
They are tired.
Which do you use: ser or estar?
Natural Color
Color can take either ser or estar, depending on the changeability of the color. Obbiously, grass is green, sky is blue–in the abstract. In these cases, use ser. However, at times the grass is not green (i.e. after a drought). Who has never seen gray skies or bright red, freshly painted toenails? (In these cases, use estar.) But when an object is referred to in its natural color, use ser.
ser
La leche is blanca.
Milk is white.
Mi casa es verde y amarilla.
My house is green and yellow.
La bandera de Japón es roja y blanca.
Japan’s flag is red and white.
