GRAMÁTICA: SER vs ESTAR
(“to be”)
Uses of SER (to be)
Uses of ESTAR (to be)
The most important factor that should be understood about ser is that it is definite, permanent,
unchangeable, or inherent
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Ser
Professions (My brother is a firefighter)
Identification ( It is a Toyota truck)
Nationality (He is from Ecuador)/citizenship (He is
Ecuadorian)
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Time( it is 4:00), dates( it is December 25th), seasons (It is summer)
Ownership (It is Juan’s book)
Describe permanent or inherent characteristics
Estar is used to express situations, aspects, and traits that may change at any time.
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Estar
Location ( is at the park, is on the desk etc.)
Feelings (is sad, is happy, is worried etc.)
& Conditions (is broken, is opened, is sick etc.)
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Ing : Present progressive: “-ndo”
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endings
(-ING : is running, is talking, etc.)
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(personality traits [he is nice] & physical traits[she is tall, the house is big])
PRESENT TENSE of “ser”
yo soy (I am )
nosotros somos (we are)
tú eres (you are)
él,ella,Ud. es (he/she/it is, ‘you’formal are) ellos,ellas,Uds. son (they/you guys are)
PRESENT TENSE of “estar”
yo estoy (I am )
nosotros estamos (we are)
tú estás (you are)
él,ella,Ud. está (he/she/it is, ‘you’formal are) ellos,ellas,Uds. están
(they/you guys are)