Ser vs. Estar

Ser and Estar both mean “to be”.They both mean “to be” but they have their own meanings.

To use estar,you need to indicate location,and say how people are feeling or feel. Estar is used to indicate location,and to describe temporary things. Estar can also be used with adjectives to tell/say how people feel at a given moment. Ex: Al lado(de)=next to

Ser means to be.Use ser to identify a person or say where he or she is from. Ex: Yo soy de Buenos Aires (I am from Buenos Aires.)

History

A copul is a word that links the subject of a sentence with a predicate.

The Spanish copulas are ser and estar:

stare → *estare → estar

The copula ser developed from two Latin verbs.

esse → èssere (as in Italian) → ésser (as in Catalan) → ser

sedere → *seder → seer → ser

Today ser is used to express the fundamental nature and identity or characteristics of something – what it really is, while estar expresses the state something happens to be in.

When To Use Ser and Estar

url — Ser is for long term, Estar is for temporary

Use D.O.C.T.O.R. to find out when to use Ser (long term) Ser is used with:

the hour, day, and date
place of origin
occupation
nationality
religious or political affiliation
the material something is made of
possession
relationship of one person to another
certain impersonal expressions
where an event is taking place
essential qualities

Use P.L.A.C.E. to find when to use Estar (short term) Estar is used with:

geographic or physical location
state or condition
many idiomatic expressions
progressive tenses

Examples

Ser:

¿Qué hora es? (time is permanent)
What time is it?

Son las dos. (time)
It’s two o’clock.

¿Qué día es hoy? (date is permanent)
What day is today?

Hoy es lunes. (date)
Today’s Monday.

Estar:

La manzana está verde.
The apple is green. (condition)

¿Dónde estás? (location is short term)
Where are you?

Estoy en el laboratorio. (location)
I’m in the laboratory.

¿Dónde está Chile? (location)
Where’s Chile?

Chile está en América del Sur. (location)
Chile is in South America.

12 thoughts on “Ser Contra Estar”

I think that you did a great job using the D.O.C.T.O.R. and P.L.A.C.E. graph, and I had no clue that ser developed from two Latin verbs

LikeLike

I like the Doctor and Place graph. It helped it make more sense.

LikeLike

Your use f the doctor and place acronyms helped my understanding of the different verb uses.

LikeLike

I like how this is not very long but it still has good information also it is very well spaced

LikeLike

I liked how you included the graphs and the acronyms to help remember ser and estar! I do think that a little more history could have been included.

LikeLike

I liked the acronyms you integrated in, it’s really helpful!

LikeLike

i learned that ser and estar are the copulas for the spanish language. something that I would have enjoyed seeing on your page is a video of some sort to explain the how to of these verbs.

LikeLike