Learning languages is such a fun experience until you get to some tricky grammar rules, am I right?

I’m sure that if you’ve tried to learn Spanish you’ve encountered the pesky translation of the English verb to be.

To be or not to be… the conjugation in English is quite simple, but now let’s look into the Spanish version of this verb.  Don’t worry! Even though it can seem a bit complicated, once you’ve learnt this you will know how to use one of the most important verbs in Spanish, and that’s quite an achievement!

In Spanish there are two ways to be. The verb ser is used for permanent or long lasting states while the verb estar is used for temporary circumstances or situations.

The best way to remember this is with some examples. Take a look.

We use ser to describe:

Nationality

Yo soy Mexicana – I am Mexican

Time

Son las diez –  It’s ten o’clock

Relationship

Luisa es mi madre – Luisa is my mother

Occupation

Ellos son arquitectos – They are architects

Personal attributes

Nosotros somos inteligentes – We are intelligent

Estar is used for:

Location

Estamos en Europa – We are in Europe

Emotions

Ella está feliz – She is happy

Temporary conditions

Él está sentado – He is sitting

Now that we know how to use the verb ser vs. estar let’s dive deeper into conjugating the verb ser.

As you might have figured out by now ser is an irregular verb.  This means it will change according to the pronoun and it’s important to memorize them to get them right.  Once you’ve done that you will have mastered one very important Spanish verb.

The present tense of ser

ConjugationTranslationyo soyI amusted es (formal you)You aretú eresYou areél esHe isella es  She isnosotros somosWe areustedes sonYou (plural) areellos/ellas sonThey are

Now to the preterit tense.

Let’s pause here for a moment.  In which cases would we use the preterit tense of the verb ser?

We use it when we talk about circumstances that were done and completed in a specific time in the past.

As always, examples always help:

• Yo fui maestra – I was a teacher
• Ella fue mi doctora – She was my doctor

The preterit tense of ser

ConjugationTranslationyo fuiI wasusted fue (formal you)You weretú fuiste  You wereél fueHe wasella fueShe wasnosotros fuimosWe wereustedes fueronYou (plural) wereellos/ellas fueronThey were

If this looks familiar it’s because we use the same preterit forms for the verb ir (to go).  This might be confusing, but remember: when using the verb ir/ go or fui/went we usually add a location after the verb.  Yo fui al cine – I went to the cinema.

Spanish speakers use ser in the imperfect form to describe what they used to be.  It refers to a past time that has no definite beginning or end. For example: to be young.  It includes many different ages and it happens throughout a long period of time.

Yo era divertido cuando era joven – I used to be fun when I was young

The imperfect tense of ser

ConjugationTranslationyo eraI used to beusted  eraYou (formal) used to betú erasYou used to beél eraHe used to beella eraShe used to benosotros éramosWe used to beustedes eranYou (plural) used to beellos/ellas  eranThey used to be

You are doing great! And I’ve saved the best for last. Ser is regular in the future tense! Much easier to remember, right?

Yo seré feliz – I will be happy

The future tense of ser

ConjugationTranslationyo seréI will beusted seráYou (formal) will betú serásYou will beél seráHe will beella seráShe will benosotros seremosWe will beustedes seránYou (plural) will beellos/ellas seránThey will be

Excellent job! Now you know how to conjugate the verb ser.

Remember, practice makes perfect!

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