Download Ser & Estar I & II

Ser & Estar I & II
Ser & Estar I
Ser & Estar I:Review
Introduction
 There are two verbs that can signify
“to be” in Spanish
 SER
 ESTAR
 SER and ESTAR are contrasted and
have a variety of uses and meanings.
Uses of SER
1. with “de” to describe origin or
possession:
 Soy de Chicago.
 I am from Chicago
 Ella es de los Estados Unidos.
 She is from the United States.
Uses of SER
2. with “de” to describe possession
 La mochila es de Elena.
 The backpack is Elena’s.
 El libro es de nosotros.
 That is our book.
Uses of SER
3. with “de” to describe what something
is made of.
 La chaqueta es de algodón.
 The jacket is cotton.
 Las enchiladas son de pollo.
 The enchiladas are chicken.
Uses of SER
4. before adjectives to indicate condition that
doesn’t result from change: nationality, age,
physical attributes, personality, religion and color.







Mis amigos son españolas. My friends are Spanish.
El presidente es joven. The president is young.
Carlos es alto y rubio. Carlos is tall and blond.
Nora es inteligente. Nora is intelligent.
Mis primos son graciosos. My cousins are funny.
Las señoras son católicas. The women are catholic.
El coche es azul. The car is blue.
Uses of SER
5. with professions:
 Soy estudiante.
 I am a student.
 Ellos son hombres de negocios.
 They are businessmen.
Uses of SER
6. to express times, dates, days of the
week:
 Son las seis de la tarde.
 It’s six o’clock in the evening.
 Hoy es lunes.
 Today is Monday.
Uses of SER
7. to indicate where an event regularly
takes place:
 La conferencia es en el auditorio.
 The conference takes place in the
auditorium. (habit, not necessarily
currently)
 La clase de español es en el aula dos.
 The Spanish class is in room two. (habit,
not necessarily currently)
Uses of ESTAR
1. with a preposition “a, en etc.” to
express current location of objects
and persons:
 Estamos en la clase.
 El libro está al lado de la mesa.
*use QUEDAR to refer only to
inanimate objects (places).
Uses of ESTAR
2. With the progressive
construction (-ndo).
 El profesor está hablando con la
estudiante.
 The professor is speaking with the
student.
Uses of ESTAR
3. to express physical and emotional
state of being or present/ resultant
condition (past participle):
ESTAR + past participle/adjective
 El proyector está roto.
 The projector is broken
 Yo estoy cansada.
 I am tired.
SER & ESTAR II
Changes in meaning
In general we know that using…
 SER
 denotes a more or less permanent state,
expressions for time, origin, location of
events and identifying descriptions.
 ESTAR
 denotes, current and/or resultant states,
location of nouns, and actions in
progress; “the effect of the cause”
However…
 SER and ESTAR are not mutually
exclusive…
 That is, with certain adjectives both
SER and ESTAR can be use along with it.
 The result is that the adjective takes on
different connotations depending on the
verb that precedes it.
Examples…
SER
ESTAR
El hombre es aburrido.
The man is boring.
El hombre está aburrido.
The man is bored.
Ella es lista.
She is clever.
Ella está lista.
She is ready. (prepared)
El café no es bueno.
Coffee is not good.
(unhealthy)
El café no está bueno.
Coffee isn’t good. (tastes
bad)
More examples…
SER
ESTAR
Eres muy bonita.
You are pretty.
Estás bonita.
You look pretty. (today)
Ella es fea.
She is ugly. (personality)
Ella está fea.
She looks ugly.
Somos divertidos.
We are funny.
Estamos divertidos.
We are amused.
More examples…
SER
ESTAR
Eres muy guapa.
You are good looking.
Estás guapa.
You are good-looking.
(today)
La manzana es verde.
The apple is green.
La manzana está verde.
The apple is not ripe.
Somos vivos.
We are smart.
Estamos vivos.
We are alive.
Describing food…
 When describing food using SER and
ESTAR becomes a little tricky.
 SER + adjective
 describes inherent or naturally occurring
qualities.
 ESTAR + adjective
 describes qualities not naturally
occurring or resultant qualities
Examples…
SER
ESTAR
La toronja es agria.
The grapefruit is sour.
La salsa está agria.
The sauce tastes sour.
El jalapeño es picante.
The jalepeño is spicy.
Las patatas están picantes.
The potatoes taste spicy.
The past participle
 The past participle can be used as an
adjective.
 They usually are preceded by ESTAR,
because they describe current
condition.
 When this occurs the past participle
must agree with the noun it is
describing.
Examples…
ESTAR
El proyector está roto.
The projector is broken.
(ROMPER = roto/a)
La cámara está rota
también.
The camera is broken too.
Ella está cansada.
She is tired.
(CANSAR = cansado/a)
Ellas están cansadas
también.
They are tired too.
Some past participle/adjectives and
their infinitives
ABURRIRSE
aburrido/a
bored
CANSARSE
cansado/a
tired
CASARSE (CON)
casado/a (con)
married (to)
ENAMORARSE
enamorado/a (de)
in love (with)
PREOCUPARSE
preocupado/a
worried
ENOJARSE
enojado/a
angry
OCUPARSE (DE)
ocupado/a
busy
ENFERMARSE
enfermo/a
sick
ENTRISTECERSE
triste
sad
Pitfalls…
 Not all adjectives can be used
interchangeably with SER and ESTAR.
 Be careful of what you mean to say
when using adjectives with SER and
ESTAR.
 There are special circumstance when
describing food.
 Make sure all adjectives agree.