Estar vs Ser (to be)

Conjugate Estar (to be)

Yo estoy,

Tú estás,

Él/Ella/Usted está,

Nosotros estamos,

Éllos/Ellas/Ustedes están

What is estar used to express?

Estar is used to express four basic concepts: location, health, changing mood or condition, and personal opinion in terms of taste or appearance.

How do you remember what estar describes?

With the acronym PLACE:

Position - Use estar when you want to talk about where something is placed

Location - Use estar when you want to talk about where something or someone is

Action - Use estar when you want to describe what someone is doing.
Note: For Action, you’ll also need the -ing form of the second verb!

Condition - Use estar when you want to talk about the state of something or someone

Emotion - Use estar when you want to talk about your feelings

Can you think of some examples of using estar?

¿Dónde están mis lentes?
Where are my glasses?

Yo estoy en el restaurante.
I am in the restaurant.

Usted está estudiando.
You are studying.

¿Están enfermas?
Are you all sick?

Tú estás contento.
You are happy.

Conjugate Ser (to be)

Yo soy,

Tú eres,

él/ella/usted es,

nosotros somos

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes son

What is Ser used to express?

Ser is used to express seven basic concepts: description, profession, point of origin, identification, material, possession or ownership, and where an event takes place.

How do you remember ser?

With the acronym DOCTOR:

Date - Use ser when you want to give someone the date

Occupation - Use ser when you want to talk about your occupation

Characteristics - Use ser when describing physical characteristics, qualities, or personality traits

Time - Use ser when you want to talk about the time.
Note: Remember to use es for 1:00 because it is one hour (singular) and son for all the other times because they’re more than one hour (plural)!

Origin - Use ser when you want to talk about where someone or something is from

Relationships - Use ser when you want to talk about your relationship with someone. Unless you are talking about your current relationship, in that case, use estar (married or separated, death).

Can you think of some examples of using ser?

Hoy es el 23 de septiembre.
Today is September 23.

Yo soy una doctora.
I am a doctor.

Ustedes son introvertidos.
You all are introverted.

Es la una de la tarde.
It is 1:00pm.

Ustedes son americanos.
You all are American.

Olga es mi abuela.
Olga is my grandmother.