The Everything Spanish Grammar Book: All The Rules You Need To Master Espanol (Everything®) (16 page)

Ser
Versus
Estar

Spanish has two verbs that may be translated as “to be”—
ser
and
estar.
Both have irregular conjugations; the verb
ser
is particularly unusual:

Because both
ser
and
estar
have only one equivalent translation in English, many students of Spanish have difficulty understanding the difference between the two verbs. A good rule of thumb to get you started is that
ser
describes permanent state and
estar
refers to temporary condition or location.

Permanently
Ser

Ser
means “is” in the sense that something
i s
the way it is:

Soy rubia y tú eres morena.

I am blonde and you are a brunette.

Patrizio es de Italia. Es italiano.

Patrizio is from Italy. He is Italian.

Angelina y Alberto son estudiantes.

Angelina and Alberto are students.

Nationality, Religion, and So On

Ser
is used to describe nationality; in combination with
de,
it may be used to say where someone is from:

¿Es usted de Chile? Sí, soy de Chile. Soy chilena.

Are you from Chile? Yes, I’m from Chile. I’m Chilean.

It is also used with other permanent characteristics that describe a person’s status, such as religion, profession, or family relationship:

Pepe Ortiz es mi abuelo.

Pepe Ortiz is my grandfather.

No todos los mexicanos son católicos.

Not all Mexicans are Catholic.

Somos médicos, pero no somos santos.

We are doctors, but we aren’t saints.

Personal Characteristics

Characteristics that don’t change from day to day are also described with
ser.
These might be physical features like eye color or height, or personality features, like intelligence or kindness. Features that don’t change over a short period of time, such as being young or old, are also described with
ser:

Mariana es bonita y muy simpática.

Mariana is pretty and very nice.

Ellos son jóvenes.

They are young.

FACT

Indication of Possession

Possessive constructions in Spanish rely on
ser
to establish the relationship between the possessor and the possessed.

La idea no es mía.

The idea isn’t mine.

La camiseta blanca es de María.

The white shirt is Maria’s.

Over Time

The one exception to the idea of
ser
being used to describe what is permanent is that this verb is employed in expressions of time—to say what day, week, month, and year it is, and also what time it is:

Son las dos de la tarde.

It’s two in the afternoon.

Hoy es lunes, ¿verdad?

Today is Monday, right?

On the Move with
Estar

Estar
is often translated as “to be located,” but its role is not limited to indicating physical location.
Estar
is also the verb “to be” used to describe temporary characteristics.

On Location

Whereas
ser
may be used to say where you are from,
estar
is the verb of choice when you need to explain where you are, geographically:

Estoy en la cocina.

I’m in the kitchen.

Federico y Ramona están en Perú.

Federico and Ramona are in Peru.

In the Mood

Estar
is also used when describing a mood, such as boredom, tiredness, or happiness. It may also be used to describe a temporary condition—being open, closed, accessible, and so on.

Clara está enferma. Le duele la cabeza y tiene fiebre.

Clara is sick. Her head hurts and she has a fever.

Cuando voy a la clase de matemáticas, estoy muy aburrido.

When I go to math class, I am very bored.

¿Cómo están ustedes? Estamos bien.

How are you? We’re fine.

Choosing Wisely

One way to understand how
ser
and
estar
differ is by comparing pairs of phrases where the only difference is the verb:

Las chicas son bellas.

The girls are pretty (in general).

Las chicas están bellas.

The girls look pretty (today).

In the first sentence, prettiness is a permanent characteristic of the girls; in the second, it is their condition on a particular occasion. Here is another example:

Nosotros somos aburridos.

We are boring.

Nosotros estamos aburridos.

We are bored.

Again, in the first sentence the adjective reflects a characteristic of the subject, “us.” In the second sentence, the adjectives describes the mood or condition of the subject.

Practice Makes Perfect

Conjugate the following irregular verbs (in parentheses) in the present tense:

1.
Los niños
_____________________
(jugar) en su cuarto.

2.
Nosotras los
_____________________
(ver) a ellos desde la ventana.

3.
¿
_____________________
(recordar) ustedes lo que deben hacer?

4.
Tú
_____________________
(cerrar) el libro.

5.
Vosotros
_____________________
(querer) salir a bailar.

6.
Ella
_____________________
(contar) chismes todo el tiempo.

7.
Nosotros
_____________________
(permanecer) aquí.

8.
Yo les
_____________________
(exigir) a mis padres que me dejen
salir.

9.
Tú
_____________________
(mentir), ¿no es así?

10. Vosotros _____________________
(poder) descansar un rato.

Fill in
ser
or
estar
and conjugate correctly:

1.
Ella
_____________________
una ladrona.
_____________________
mala.

2.
El Señor Órtiz
_____________________
abogado.

3.
Mis hijos tienen el pelo negro.
_____________________
morenos.

4. _____________________
las once de la noche.

5.
Tú tienes fiebre.
_____________________
enfermo.

6.
Ustedes
_____________________
muy simpáticos.

7.
Cuando viajamos juntos, yo
_____________________
muy alegre.

8.
Yo
_____________________
de México.
_____________________
mexicana.

9.
No
_____________________
bien. Me siento mal.

10. ¿_____________________
usted alegre hoy?

To check your answers, refer to the answer key in Appendix D.

C
HAPTER
9
A Quick
Verb Usage Guide

WHEREAS CHAPTER 8 COVERS irregular verb forms, this chapter will turn your attention to irregularities in terms of usage— those tricky verbs that make no sense if all you have is a literal translation. Sometimes knowing the English meaning of something isn’t enough. You also need to know how you can apply it in Spanish. From the difference between
saber
and
conocer
(both translated as “to know”) to the Spanish passive voice, this chapter covers verbs and verb constructions that may baffle English speakers and native Spanish speakers alike.

Saber
or
Conocer
?

If you don’t speak Spanish as a native language, you might have difficulty choosing between
saber
and
conocer.
Both are translated as “to know.”
Saber
may also mean “to be able to do,” and
conocer
means “to meet,” but in some situations the distinction isn’t clear. Before we look at each verb more closely, let’s review their conjugations in the present indicative:

Abilities and Skills

Saber
should be your verb of choice if you are talking about knowing how to do something:

¿Sabes esquiar en las montañas?

Do you know how to ski in the mountains?

Los estudiantes saben matemáticas e inglés, pero todavía no
saben castellano.

The students know math and English, but they still don’t know Spanish.

ESSENTIAL

Saber
is also used to express what someone knows:

¿Sabe lo que pasó ayer por la ciudad?

Do you know what happened yesterday in the city?

Yo sé lo que vas a decir.

I know what you’re going to say.

It’s Who You Know

Conocer
is used to express whom you know in the sense of whom you’ve met. For example,
Valentina conoce a Rodolfo
means “Valentina knows Rodolfo” in the sense that she’s met him, not merely that she knows who he is. Similarly, you can use
conocer
to talk about the things that you know and are familiar with, as well as places you’ve visited:

Conozco los árboles del parque que Selena mencionó en su
presentación.

I know the trees from the park that Selena mentioned in her presentation.

¿Conocen la ciudad donde nací?

Do you know the city where I was born?

Note that in the last example, the question is whether you’ve visited the city, rather than whether you’ve heard about it.

Talking about the Weather

Verbs associated with talking about the weather serve as a good example of how you can’t always rely on direct translation between English and Spanish. In English, we generally use the verb “to be” to describe the weather: It’s sunny. It was cold. It will be windy. In Spanish,
estar
may be used in some cases:

¿Cómo está el tiempo?

How is the weather?

Está lloviendo.

It’s raining.

Está nublado.

It’s cloudy.

Está nevando.

It’s snowing.

However, a more common verb is
hacer
(to make):

¿Qué tiempo hace?

Literally, this question may be translated as “What (kind of) weather is made?” But the question is really asking “How is the weather?” Common answers are:

Hace sol.

It’s sunny.

Hace mucho frío.

It’s very cold.

Hace mucho calor.

It’s very hot.