95. The verbs ser
and estar are irregular.
Present Indicative |
| ser, to be |
estar, to be |
| soy, I am, etc. |
estoy, I am |
| eres |
estás |
| es |
está |
| somos |
estamos |
| sois |
estáis |
| son |
están |
Past Descriptive Indicative |
| era, I was, etc. |
estaba, I was, etc. |
| eras |
(regular) |
| era |
|
| éramos |
|
| erais |
|
| eran |
|
Past Absolute Indicative |
| fuí, I was, etc. (like the
past absolute of ir, 87) |
estuve, I was |
| |
estuviste |
| |
estuvo |
| |
estuvimos |
| |
estuvisteis |
| |
estuvieron |
| |
|
96. Meaning of ser and
estar. Ser and estar, usually
translated by 'to be,' are never synonymous. Primarily, ser
is a copula, equivalent to a sign of equality, while estar
(Latin stare, 'to stand') expresses position in space or
time. It follows, therefore, that:
1. Ser expresses what is permanent or inherent,
while estar expresses what is temporary or accidental.
2. Ser expresses qualities, while estar
expresses conditions.
La leche es de color blanco y la tinta es de color negro.
Milk is of white color and ink is black color.
Ella es pálida. She is pale (of pale color).
Ella está pálida. She looks pale
(now).
Es borracho. He is a drunkard.
Está borracho. He is drunk.
La noche estaba muy bonita. The night was very
beautiful.
El hombre es pequeño. The man is small
(of small stature).
La niña está todavía pequeña.
The little girl is still small (temporarily).
El hielo es frío. Ice is cold (a cold
commodity).
El café está frío ahora. The
coffee is cold now.
La cocina es grande. The kitchen is large.
La cocina está limpia. The kitchen is
clean.
El libro es francés. The book is French.
El libro está sobre la mesa. The book
is on the table.
Las rosas son hermosas. Roses are beautiful.
Las rosas están secas. The roses are dry
(have become dry).
a. Ownership and origin are always expressed by ser.
La casa es de mi padre.
The house is my father's.
¿De quién son los libros? To whom
do the books belong?
Mi amigo es de España. My friend is from
spain.
La carta era de Madrid. The letter was from Madrid.
El reloj es de oro. The watch is of gold.
b. When the predicate
is a noun, ser is likewise used.
Mi tío es médico.
My uncle is a physician.
La vaca es un animal doméstico. The cow
is a domestic animal.
c. The location of a person or thing, whether permanent
or temporary, is expressed by estar.
La universidad está
cerca de Palo Alto. The university is near Palo Alto.
La casa está en al campo. The house is
in the country.
El río de Misuri está en los Estados Unidos. The
Missouri river is in the United States.
d. Some adjectives have one meaning when used with ser
and another meaning when used with estar, ser
indicating character and estar indicating health.
| ser bueno, to be good. |
estar bueno, to be well
(in good health) |
| ser malo, to be bad. |
estar malo, to be ill. |
e. Estar is also frequently used with
the present participle to form the progressive tenses (435).
In most cases the Spanish progressive and absolute tenses are
interchangeable.
Estoy hablando (o
hablo). I am talking.
¿Qué está diciendo? What
is he saying?
Estábamos estudiando. We were studying.
|
