Verbs ser and estar (to be)

• Ser, present tense
• Estar, present tense
• How to memorize the conjugations
• Ser: We use it for identity
  • Physical or personality traits
  • Nationality / origin
  • Professions
• Estar: We use it for states and location
  • Moods / physical states
  • Location
• Distinguishing example

Ser, present tense

yo soy

tú eres

él / ella / usted es

nosotros / nosotras somos

(vosotros / vosotras sois)

ellos / ellas / ustedes son

Estar, present tense

yo estoy

tú estás

él / ella / usted está

nosotros / nosotras estamos

(vosotros / vosotras estáis)

ellos / ellas / ustedes están

How to memorize the conjugations

Try to memorize them in columns, preceded by the pronoun: Yo soy, tú eres, él/ella/usted es, nosotros/nosotras somos, (vosotros/vosotras sois), ellos/ellas/ustedes son. Yo estoy, tú estás, él/ella/usted está, nosotros/nosotras estamos, (vosotros/vosotras estáis), ellos/ellas/ustedes están.

In all Spanish-speaking countries, people differentiate between tú eres (informal) versus usted es (formal). However, for the plural version ("you all") this differentiation only happens in Spain: vosotros sois (informal) versus ustedes son (formal). In the rest of the world, for "you all," people always use the formal version ustedes son. Since the majority of the Spanish-speaking countries don't use vosotros, we can choose to skip it when we learn verb conjugations.

Ser: We use it for identity

Ser expresses what someone or something is: their defining traits, where they are from, what they do.

Typical uses:

Physical or personality traits

Yo soy alto. (I am tall.)

Laura es simpática. (Laura is nice.)

Nationality / origin

John es de España. (John is from Spain.)

Professions

María es secretaria. (María is a secretary.)

Professions can change, but we consider them part of a person's identity, so we use ser.

Estar: We use it for states and location

Estar expresses the state or condition someone or something is in right now, or where it is.

A memory aid: estar and state come from the same Latin root.

Typical uses:

Moods / physical states

Yo estoy triste. (I am sad.)

Pedro está cansado. (Pedro is tired.)

Location

Sara está en Nueva York. (Sara is in New York.)

Madrid está en España. (Madrid is in Spain.)

We always use estar for location, even for places that never move, like cities and countries.

Distinguishing example

Mis ojos son azules. (My eyes are blue: it is part of what they are.)

Mis ojos están rojos. (My eyes are red: it is the state they are in right now.)