When learning Spanish, sometimes it feels like you are in a constant battle between whether to choose SER or ESTAR. However, if someone told you that by learning just a short list of uses you would get it right 95% of the time, you’d probably be quite happy with that… at least until you get more confident.
So here’s a simple explanation of when to choose SER and when to choose ESTAR, followed by explanations and examples. If you follow this simple list of rules, you’ll get it right 95% of the time, and then you can perfect that final 5% once you are ready. I’ve also included some interactive practice activities so that you can see if you’ve really taken it in.
In a nutshell…
The list of instances when you would use SER is much bigger than the list of times that you would use ESTAR. However, keep in mind that on a day to day basis you will use ESTAR far more.
A simple list of uses:
SER: Fairly permanent qualities and information:
i.e.
- Job
- Nationality
- Religion
- Physical description
Estar: Temporary feelings and conditions/location/progressive actions.
i.e.
- I am (currently feeling) well.
- I am (currently) on the beach
- I am (currently) reading
Don’t stop there… read on to find out more!
A simple explanation for SER:
SER is generally used to talk about permanent and natural qualities (i.e. your personality, your job, your physical description).
Yes, we know you can change these but by permanent I mean, they don’t change back and forth on a daily basis, so don’t get hung up on the word permanent.
We would use SER for:
– Personality (He is funny) *
– Job (I am a nurse)
– Religion (Are you Jewish?)
– Nationality (We are English)
– Physical description (He is tall) *
– Hour, day and date (It’s 1 o’clock/ It is Tuesday / It is the 6th June)
– What something is made of (The house is wooden)
– Possession (It is my car)
– Place of origin (I am from South America)
*See ‘If you would like a bit more detail‘ (further down) for a VERY USEFUL extra note on this use!
My Top Tip!
If you are ever saying ‘I am/you are/he is/it is/they are etc’ followed by a thing (a noun) you need SER:
I.e.
- It is a boy (Es un niño)
- They are shoes (Son zapatos)
- It used to be/was a church (Era una iglesia)
Note:
A noun is just a person, place or thing. You can’t always touch it (i.e. love/wind/fear) but you know it is a noun if you can say A or THE in front. I.e. The love I have for you. / A fear I’ve never known.
Examples:
When using other tenses (i.e. talking about what you used to be or what day it will be tomorrow) people often forget to consider whether to use SER or ESTAR, but that is always the first thing you should do… decide on SER or ESTAR and then think about the tense (periods in time) to use and who you are talking about.
Often it helps to make your decision whilst thinking in the present tense and then change to the required tense once you’ve decided on SER or ESTAR. However, here are some examples in different tenses, so that you don’t get too comfortable just using the present tense.
| She is really calm. (That is her personality.) (Ella) es muy tranquila. | Tomorrow will be the 10th June. Mañana será el diez de marzo. |
| I was/used to be (a) doctor. Era médico. | This chair is wooden (of wood). Esta silla es de madera. |
| We are Muslim. Somos musulmanes. | It was my mistake. Fue mi error. |
| Your house is going to be very big. Tu casa va a ser muy grande. | They are from Ireland. Son de Irlanda. |
A simple explanation for ESTAR:
The list of times when we use ESTAR is much shorter but you will use it much more frequently on a day to day basis because we use it mainly to talk about ‘where we are‘, ‘what we are doing’ and ‘how we are feeling‘ or something’s ‘current state/condition’.
For example:
- Hi, how are you? (AKA currently feeling)
- I’m fine. (AKA currently fine)
- Where were you last night? (AKA located last night)
- I was at home. (AKA located at home)
This is a typical conversation and we would use ESTAR for all of those sentences. It’s not often that we talk about our personality, religion, job, physical description on a day to day basis. That’s the kind of conversation you would have when you first meet someone.
We can also use ESTAR to talk about what we are in the progress of doing (this is called the Progressive).
I.e.
- I am cooking.
- Estoy cocinando.
- They are listening well/properly.
- Están escuchando bien.
Finally, the other use for ESTAR is to say where you are located.
I.e.
- Where are you (located)?… I am (located) in the attic.
- ¿Dóndé estás?… Estoy en el ático.
Watch out for this exception:
One thing to keep in mind about ‘location‘. Whenever we say where something or someone is, we use ESTAR: I am at work/ the car is on the drive. However, what many people don’t know is that if you are talking about where an event is taking place, we use SER.
I.e.
The wedding is (taking place) in the Hilton.
La boda es en el Hilton.
Where is the party (taking place)?
¿Dónde es la fiesta?
Just to reiterate:
The main 3 uses of ESTAR:
1-How you feel or somethings current condition.
2-Where something is located (but not taking place).
3-What you are (currently) in the process of doing.
Examples:
| I’m (feeling) fine, thanks. Estoy bien, gracias. | Estaba viendo la tele. I was watching TV. |
| Where were you during the match? ¿Dónde estabas durante el partido? | Your dad will be in his office. Tu papá estará en su despacho. |
| La sopa está fría. The soup is cold. (It has gone cold.) | He would be OK on his own. Estaría bien solo. |
IF YOU WOULD LIKE A BIT MORE DETAIL…
Once you know the uses, most of the time it is quite easy to choose between SER and ESTAR.
However, the main thing that causes people to struggle to choose is when dealing with description.
For example:
She is quiet – Do I mean in general (that is her personality) or just at the moment?
Well you can use SER or ESTAR accordingly to show what you mean.
| She is really quiet. (That is her personality.) Ella es muy tranquila. | She is (currently being) really quiet today. Ella está muy tranquila hoy. |
| He is so handsome. (That’s his permanent description/characteristic.) Es tan guapo. | He is (looking) really handsome tonight. Está tan guapo esta noche. |
| You are tall. (It’s a fact, you are physically tall) Eres alto. | Wow, you are (looking) really tall! ¡ Vaya, estás tan alto! |
Basically, if what you mean is ‘being/behaving/looking/seeming‘ then you use ESTAR!
This will help you when you see ESTAR used where you are certain it should be SER. Just keep in mind that the speaker/writer is probably saying ‘looking/being/behaving/seeming’ and then the description.
Finally, describing food can be a tricky one!
Keep in mind, if you are describing it’s permanent description you’d use SER, if you are describing its temporary state you would use ESTAR.
I.e.
| Gazpacho is cold. (It is a cold soup). Gazpacho es frio. | The soup is cold. (This soup that you are eating has gone cold) La sopa está fría. |
| Chinese food is tasty. (That is its natural characteristic/description.) La comida china es sabrosa. | This dish is tasty. (What I’m currently eating is tasty.) Este plato está sabroso. |
In conclusion
The best way to grow in confidence when choosing between SER and ESTAR is by practising and you’ll find plenty of interactive grammar activities to do at Simple Spanish Tips.
I’ve given you SER vs ESTAR in a nutshell, along with a simple explanation of the different uses of SER and ESTAR. So check your understanding by having a go at some interactive practice!
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