![]() ![]() Your sadness is only temporary.Ĭarlos está en la escuela. This includes emotions, locations, actions, and conditions, which are all temporary states. We use estar when talking about HOW something is. The easiest way to explain the difference between estar and ser is that we use estar for temporary states and ser for permanent states. While in Spanish, the language gets a bit more specific. In English, the verb “to be” follows the “one size fits all” policy. How can a single verb express all those different states of being? Think about the many things you can say with the verb “to be”: you are an American, a teacher, you are cool, depressed, in a hurry, hungry, etc. You might be surprised to know that for Spanish speakers, it’s quite weird that English doesn’t differentiate between these two verbs. The logic behind this is that they express two different things: estar expresses being in a place or state, while ser expresses being something or someone. “To be” equally translates as estar and as ser in Spanish. Herein lies the source of all the confusion regarding the verb “to be” in Spanish: we use two different verbs to express what in English is expressed with only one (Spanish uses three verbs actually, but let’s not overcomplicate the lesson). However, as you may have heard by now, Spanish complicates the matter by using two distinct verbs for what is “to be” in English. There is not much room for confusion and no other verb that we could use to express these ideas. You can “be” in Mexico, but you can also “be” an architect. It has a well-defined structure (subject + conjugated form of the verb “to be” + complement) which serves to express a lot of different situations. In English, the use of this fundamental verb is pretty straightforward. The power of the verb “to be” is that it expresses who you are, how you feel, what you do for a living, and many other important things. But it shouldn’t be like that, once you understand how it works, estar and ser are just like any other Spanish verb. ![]() How to correctly use estar and ser is the cause of countless headaches among new learners of the Spanish language. Dominguez Spanish Grammar 0 comments Estar and Ser: Funny Mistakes and How to Use the Verbs the Right Way! ![]()
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