Grammar Lesson 1:
Estar vs Ser
In Spanish there are two verbs that mean 'to be,' estar and ser. What is the difference between the two? Permanence. Estar is used to speak of relatively temporal things or states. Ser, on the other hand, is used to speak of relatively permanent things or states.
Examples:
1. La pluma está en tu mano pero París es en Francia. The pen is in your hand but Paris is in France. The pen will probably change its location shortly but Paris has been in France for a couple thousand years and won't be moving to another country soon.
2. Ella está viva pero no es muy viva. She is alive but not very clever.
3. Café es bueno pero el café aquí está horrible. Coffee is (generally) good but here it's horrible.
4. Él no es un hombre enojado pero sí está enojado en este momento. He isn't an angry man but indeed he's angry right now. Personality traits last our entire lives, but moods come and go.
In the second example you'll notice vivo means 'alive' when used with estar and means 'clever' when used with ser. A few other words with dual meanings:
listo ― ready with estar, intelligent with ser.
aburrido ― bored with estar, boring with ser.
cansado ― tired with estar, tiring with ser.
Present tense conjugations of ser and estar
Estar vs Ser
In Spanish there are two verbs that mean 'to be,' estar and ser. What is the difference between the two? Permanence. Estar is used to speak of relatively temporal things or states. Ser, on the other hand, is used to speak of relatively permanent things or states.
Examples:
1. La pluma está en tu mano pero París es en Francia. The pen is in your hand but Paris is in France. The pen will probably change its location shortly but Paris has been in France for a couple thousand years and won't be moving to another country soon.
2. Ella está viva pero no es muy viva. She is alive but not very clever.
3. Café es bueno pero el café aquí está horrible. Coffee is (generally) good but here it's horrible.
4. Él no es un hombre enojado pero sí está enojado en este momento. He isn't an angry man but indeed he's angry right now. Personality traits last our entire lives, but moods come and go.
In the second example you'll notice vivo means 'alive' when used with estar and means 'clever' when used with ser. A few other words with dual meanings:
listo ― ready with estar, intelligent with ser.
aburrido ― bored with estar, boring with ser.
cansado ― tired with estar, tiring with ser.
Present tense conjugations of ser and estar
| Ser | Estar | |
| 1st person singular (yo) | soy | estoy |
| 2nd person singular (tú) | eres | estás |
| 3rd person singular (él, ella, eso) | es | está |
| 1st person plural (nosotros) | somos | estamos |
| 2nd person plural (vosotros) | sois | estáis |
| 3rd person plural (ellos, ellas) | son | están |
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