Knowing When to Use the Spanish Verb Ser
There are not many verbs in Spanish that are thought of as being as important as the irregular Spanish verb ser; estar, also meaning ‘to be‘, tener and haber both meaning ‘to have’, although haber is used extensively as an auxiliary verb in the Perfect tenses, to name but three.
However, it does not matter all that much which verb someone believes carries the most importance it is with the use and conjugation of the Spanish verb ser that most students start which therefore underlines it’s importance!
Ser is a difficult verb to start with as it has a lot of irregular forms in the majority of it’s tenses, but before looking at these irregular conjugations it would be best to fully understand when ser is used.
In English we take the the verb ‘to be’ pretty much for granted as the vast majority of English speakers learned how to use and conjugate it at such an early age that many of us probably cannot remember ever doing so, but, unlike English, Spanish verb conjugation is never easy and Spanish uses two verbs meaning ‘to be’, ser and estar as mentioned previously, and these verbs are utilized for different purposes; here though we will only be concentrating on Ser.
The Spanish Verb Ser is used to Describe:
- Identity: Es Juan – He is Juan
- Possession: La casa es de Carlos – The house is Carlos’s
- Origin: Mi familia son de Madrid – My Family are from Madrid
- Nationality: Soy inglés – I am English
- Occupation: Somos profesores – We are teachers
- Material of which an object is made: El reloj es de oro – The watch is made of gold
- Inherent Characteristics: Ramon es muy alto – Ramon is very tall
- Expressions of time: Son las siete – It is 7 o’clock, Mañana es lunes – Tomorrow is Monday
- Impersonal Expressions: Es mejor esperar – It is better to wait, Es difícil contestar – It is difficult to answer
If you wanted to explain location, permanent or temporary, then estar would be used, eg:
- Madrid está en España – Madrid is in Spain
- Estoy en la cocina – I am in the kitchen.
Estar would also be used when explaining temporary states or conditions such as:
- Estoy enfermo – I am sick
Apart from the uses outlined above, ser is always used.