Ser I

Introduction

In Spanish, there are two verbs that have the same English translation but that actually mean different things in Spanish. Both ser and estar are translated as “to be” in English, even though their uses in Spanish are different from each other. In this section, we will focus on ser, both its conjugations and major uses Before moving on, be sure you are familiar with the subject pronouns and what it means to conjugate a verb. It might also help to be comfortable with the conjugations of -er verbs in the present tense.

Conjugation

Ser is an irregular verb, meaning it does not follow the conjugation patterns for other -er verbs. Instead, it does its own funky conjugation dance.

Unfortunately, you will have to memorize these conjugations, since there is little logic to them. Fortunately, you will use ser frequently enough that you will get a lot of practice, and soon, you won’t even have to think about choosing the right conjugation.

Usage

Ser and estar differ in the circumstances in which they are used. Generally, ser is used for more permanent conditions, while estar is typically seen with more temporary or changeable things. However, like all grammar rules, there are exceptions and strange cases. Here are some of the most common uses of ser.

Characteristics and traits

Ser is used to talk about how something is — if the characteristic is considered relatively permanent. Examples of such characteristics include physical attributes (tall, short, fat, blonde, bald, etc.) and other personal traits (smart, funny, stubborn, serious, studious, etc.) Remember that your adjectives need to agree in number and gender with your noun!

Examples:

Marta es bonita. (Marta is pretty.)

Yo soy alto. (I am tall.)

Carlos y Juan son inteligentes. (Carlos and Juan are intelligent.)

Linking nouns and pronouns

It is sometimes helpful to think of these situations as definition sentences — you are saying what something is.

Examples:

Buenos Aires es la capital de Argentina. (Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina.)

Jorge es mi hermano. (Jorge is my brother.)

Ellos son hombres. (They are men.)

Time

Ser is used to express what time of day it is. For more on telling time in Spanish, see the separate time section.