Diferencias básicas entre SER y ESTAR - The verb to be in Spanish

Hola a todos,

One of the first things that Spanish students have to learn when learning the language is the difference between ser and estar, our Spanish version of the English verb to be.

Ser is usually used for permanent relationships or descriptions, or to explain things that you used to be but in which you will still know the skill. For example: jobs or professions, nationalities, social relationships, etc)

Estar is usually used for temporal relationships or descriptions, or to explain things that could change. A good tip is to think of physical locations or things that could be moved.

Here you have a chart with SER and ESTAR conjugated in present tense and different examples. Remember you do not need to use the pronoun every time you talk in Spanish only to emphasize the sentence (that is why it is in parenthesis in this chart)

Ser	Estar
(Yo) soy escocés (Tú) eres simpatico (Usted) es agradable (Él - Ella) es secretaria (Nosotros) somos amigos (Ustedes) son estudiantes (Ellos – Ellas) son de Estados Unidos (Vosotros) sois españoles	(Yo) estoy feliz (Tú) estás bien (Usted) está enfadado (Él – Ella) está en Puerto Rico (Nosotros) estamos en casa (Ustedes) están en la biblioteca (Ellos – Ellas) están en el bote en el mar  (Vosotros) estáis en la escuela

Let me know if you have any questions or comments

Saludos,
Fernanda