Ser o estar
Ser or estar

Ser dice qué es una cosa. Estar dice cómo está hoy.

ser tells you what something is; estar tells you how it is right now.

Escucha · Listen

¿Cómo es Carmen?
 Ana —  Luis, ¿cómo es Carmen? 
Luis, what is Carmen like?  
 Luis —  Carmen es simpática. Es abogada. 
Carmen is nice. She is a lawyer.  
 Ana —  ¿Y hoy? ¿Cómo está? 
And today? How is she doing?  
 Luis —  Hoy está cansada. Trabaja mucho. 
Today she is tired. She works a lot.  
 Ana —  ¿Carmen es lista? 
Is Carmen clever?  
 Luis —  Sí, es lista. Y ahora está lista: sale de casa. 
Yes, she is clever. And right now she is ready: she is leaving the house.  
 Ana —  ¿Y el trabajo? ¿Es aburrido? 
And the job? Is it boring?  
 Luis —  No, no es aburrido. Hoy Carmen está contenta. 
No, it is not boring. Today Carmen is happy.  

Explicación · Explanation

Ser dice qué es y quién es: la profesión, el carácter. Carmen es abogada. Carmen es simpática. Estar dice cómo está hoy y dónde está: Carmen está cansada. Carmen está aquí.

This is the first of the three peaks of Spanish, and it is not as hard as its reputation. ser answers what something IS — profession, character, the traits that do not change from Tuesday to Wednesday. estar answers how someone is right now and where anything is. Carmen es abogada is her job for life; Carmen está cansada is her afternoon.

Con cuatro adjetivos cambia el sentido: es listo o está listo, es rico o está rico, es aburrido o está aburrido, es guapo o está guapo.

With a small set of adjectives the choice of verb changes the meaning outright. es listo = he is clever, está listo = he is ready. es rico = he is wealthy, está rico = it tastes delicious. es aburrido = he is a boring person, está aburrido = he is bored at this moment. es guapo = he is good-looking, está guapo = he is looking good today.

Luis es guapo. Ana es guapa. Los amigos son guapos. Las amigas son guapas.

The adjective copies the gender and number of whoever it describes — guapo, guapa, guapos, guapas — exactly as the nationality words did in level 1. This happens after ser and after estar alike: Ana está cansada, Luis está cansado.

Vocabulario · Vocabulary

Palabra	Meaning	Nota · Note
guapo	good-looking, handsome	guapa, guapos, guapas
listo	clever · ready	es listo / está listo
aburrido	boring · bored	es aburrido / está aburrido
rico	wealthy · delicious	es rico / está rico
simpático	nice, likeable	con ser

Práctica · Practice

Carmen ________ abogada. Carmen is a lawyer.

Hoy Luis ________ cansado. Today Luis is tired.

El pan ________ rico. The bread tastes delicious.

Unir la frase y el sentido. Match each phrase with its meaning.

Ordenar la frase. Arrange the words.

Hoy Ana no trabaja. Ana ________ aburrida. Today Ana is not working. Ana is bored.

Ponlo en práctica · Use it

Habla de una amiga o de un amigo, en voz alta. Con ser: «Es maestra. Es simpática». Con estar: «Hoy está cansada. Está aquí». Y ahora habla de ti: «Soy… Hoy estoy…».

Say four sentences aloud about a friend: two with ser for what they are and do, two with estar for where they are and how they feel today. Then turn the same four on yourself, starting soy… and hoy estoy…. If you hesitate, ask yourself whether the word would still be true next year.