Spanish has two verbs for the verb to be: ser and estar. For Spanish students, learning when to use which is one of the first big challenges, and even advanced students can still confuse the two verbs. To native Spanish speakers however, they are as different as night and day. Here are some general rules for using ser and estar in written and spoken Spanish.
Understanding the Basic Rules of Ser and Estar
If ser and estar were objects, ser would be a rock and estar would be a feather. Ser is a verb describing things that simply are that way, unchanging from birth to death. Estar on the other hand describes changeable things that might be one way today and different tomorrow, floating around without settling. So while a girl es de Agentina, (is from Argentina) something that won’t change, ella está cansada, (she is tired), something that could be different after a short rest. There are many exceptions however, but learning these rules will cover most situations
- Use ser to describe permanent physical appearance, such as short, pretty, curly haired or dark-skinned. Use estar for something temporary about appearance, such as clean shaven or untidy.
- Use estar to describe any impermanent state or mood, such as tired, awake, sitting, standing, sad. happy, broken, clean, dirty, full, empty, open, shut or injured. Remember that there are a string of common expressions to describe temporary states that use tener (to have) such as hungry, thirsty, cold, hot and in a hurry
- Use estar to talk about location of all kinds: estoy en Bogotá; la casa está en la esquina – the house is on the corner, or Veracruz está en Mexico. This is very confusing for beginners as Veracruz can hardly move from Mexico anymore than the house can move from the corner. Learn this exception as it is the most common use of estar.
- Use ser with all nouns. Eres maestra – you are a teacher or es un tonto – he’s a fool.
- Use ser for talking about possession: eres mío, eran tuyos, son de él
- For quantities always use ser: somos cuatro en mi familia; es mucha comida; son cinco niños.
- Even though it might sound strange, when talking about marriage, the correct form is estoy casado/a.
- Yet another exception from the permanency rule is the use of estar when talking about death: está muerto/a.
The Grey Areas of Using Ser and Estar
The confusing side of the ser/estar divide come when talking about adjectives. Take for example, someone might say that a girl es linda or está linda. What is the difference? Es linda means she is a really cute girl, always looking lovely and always well presented. Es linda refers to her in general terms. Está linda is more specific. It means that today she looks great. She has a new dress, she has done her hair in a new way and right now, she looks cute.
One way to decide whether to use ser or estar is to ask whether ahora (now) or hoy (today) could be added onto the end. If the answer is yes, then the verb to use will be estar. For example, to say that a friend está borracho means "he’s drunk," as in "tonight he is drunk but tomorrow he will be sober." Hoy or ahora could easily be added to this statement. But to say that that same friend es boracho would imply that he is a drunkard, someone who habitually over drinks and should probably get help.
As with all aspects of learning Spanish, the best way to understand and use ser and estar naturally and correctly is through practice and more practice. However, keeping these rules somewhere near the surface will guide the Spanish learner away from almost all the common pitfalls that people fall into. For more advice on getting to fluency in Spanish, read the article"Speak Spanish to Fluency."
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Charlotte Gordon - Charlotte is a 29-year-old New Zealander, who is currently living and working in Latin America. She spent a year working as a volunteer in ...
