Answer #1

In Spanish language, there are two words in the form of a verb which are translated in English as “to be”. The two known Spanish verbs are estar and ser. For non-Spanish speaking individuals, it can be quite confusing whether to use estar or ser in a conversation or in writing especially when not familiar with the very correct usage of each word. Here are the differences between the two:

As a rule, the term “estar” is used when addressing to the various states of being of a person, place, or thing like physical appearances or conditions; emotions, feelings, or moods; and civil statuses like single, married, divorced, or dead. Estar is also applied together with the present progressive tense of a verb. Estar also provides a different meaning when used in an adjective. The adjective becomes a description of an appearance or mood of the person, place, or thing.

Ser, in contrast, is applied when pertaining to identity of a person, place, or thing like a physical description, character or personality, origin, race, gender, profession, nationality, and the likes. It also describes events or things that happen or take place like days, time, dates, seasons, concerts, parties, holidays, occasions, etc. Ser also talks about what stuffs are made of and when involving ownership. Compared with estar, an adjective together with ser talks about the attributes of the person, place, thing, or event that you are primarily describing.

One important fact to consider in using estar and ser, do not rely on the rule which states that estar is applied only for concepts that are said to be temporary in nature while ser is applicable for concepts that are permanent. This rule is believed to be the source of the difficulty in understanding the proper usage of the Spanish verbs estar and ser.

Answered By: khristine [216 ]