Lección 3 – Breve historia del español y verbos ser y estar en detalle

Summary:

A brief overview of the evolution of vulgar Latin to Spanish and a detailed explanation of the use of the verbs ser and estar.

Brief history of the evolution of the Spanish language:

See slides.

Verbo ser:

Pronoun	Conjugation
yo	soy
tú	eres
él / ella / Usted	es
nosotros / nosotras	somos
vosotros / vosotras / ustedes	sois / son
ellos / ellas	son

Verbo estar:

Pronoun	Conjugation
yo	estoy
tú	estás
él / ella / Usted	está
nosotros / nosotras	estamos
vosotros / vosotras / ustedes	estáis / están
ellos / ellas	están

Use of verb “ser” and “estar”

The verbs have two main different functions:

• Predicative: the verb describes an action (the vast majority of the verbs are predicative in nature). It does not need a complement to have a meaning.
• Copulative: the verb modifies the subject with the help of a complement.

 Predicative use of verb “ser”

It can mean “to exist“ or “to take place“

Examples:

• “Dios es“ – “god exists“
• “El congreso es en París” – “The congress takes place in Paris”
• “El concierto es a las siete” – “The concert starts at seven o’clock”

Copulative use of ser*

*There is no official form in Spanish for the verb estar + Noun, when this is not the subject of the sentence

Ser + NOUN

• To identify and classify:

“Mi hermano es Juan” – “My brother is Juan”

“Ésto es un libro” – “This is a book”

• To tell the marital status of a person

“Él es casado” – “He is married”

“Es soltero” – “[He/She] is single”

• To indicate possession

“¿De quién es la maleta?” – “Whom belongs the bag?”

“Es mía” – “[It] is mine”

• To determine origin (+ prep. “de”)

“Soy de Seúl” – “I’m from Seoul”

• To indicate the materials an object is made of (+ prep. “de”)

“Es de oro” – “[It] is made of gold”

• To indicate price, quantities and numerals

“Son diez euros” – “It costs ten euros”

“Dos por dos son cuatro” – “Two times two equals four”

• To tell the days of a week

“Hoy es lunes” – “Today is Monday”

• To tell time

“Son las doce” – “It’s twelve o’clock”

• To tell the date

“Hoy es el diez de enero” – “Today is January 10”

HOWEVER: you can also say “estar + a”

“Estamos a diez de enero”

• To indicate a profession

“Soy estudiante” – “I’m a student”

HOWEVER: you can also use “estar + de” to indicate temporary jobs

“Juan está de camarero por el verano” – “Juan is working as a waiter during summer”

Copulative use of estar

Estar + MODAL ADVERB

• “Estoy bien” – “I’m fine”
• “Está mal” – “It’s wrong / bad”

“Está mejor” – “It’s better

Copulative use of ser and estar

Estar + ADJECTIVE

“Estar” is used to indicate a “states of mind, body, etc” where a change from a former one is implied. One can use adjectives that are subject to change while others that are also irreversible.

Examples:

• “Él está enfermo” – “He is sick”
• “El agua está fría” – “The water is cold”
• However: “Su padre está muerto” – “His father is dead”

Ser + ADJECTIVE

“Ser” indicates an inherent or permanent property of the subject. The speaker then does not imply that there is a change from a former state.

Examples:

• “Él es egocéntrico” – “He is egocentric”
• “Ella es generosa” – “She is generous”
• “El hielo es frío” – “The ice is cold”

Estar / Ser + ADJECTIVE

Exceptions:

There are adjectives that have different meanings depending if one uses them with “ser” or “estar”

• “ser bueno” – “to be good hearted”
• “estar bueno” – “to be good looking”
• “ser educado” – “to be well mannered”
• “estar educado” – “to be well educated”
• “ser grande” – “to be big”
• “estar grande” – “to have grown much lately”
• “ser igual” – “not to have differences”
• “estar igual” – “to not have changed recently”
• “ser listo” – “to be intelligent”
• “estar listo” – “to be ready”
• “ser malo” – “to be evil”
• “estar malo” – “to be sick”

Summary: Verb “ser”

		Function / Meaning	Example
Predicative	–	To exist	“Dios es”
		To take place	“Hoy es la clase”
Copulative	+ NOUN	To identify	“Él es Juan”
		Marital status	“Él es soltero”
		Possesion	“Es mío”
		Origin	“Es de China”
		Material	“Es de oro”
		Price, quantities, numbers	“Son diez euros”
		Day, time, date	“Hoy es lunes”
		Profession	“Soy estudiante”
	+ ADJECTIVE	To indicate a permanent quality	“Es generoso”

Summary: Verb “estar”

		Function / Meaning	Example
Predicative	–	To be situated	“El aula está aquí”
		To feel oneself to be	“¿Cómo estás?”
Copulative	+ MODAL ADVERB	–	“Está bien”
			“Está mal”
	+ ADJECTIVE	To indicate a state where a change from a former one is implied	“Está enfermo”
			“Está frío”
			“Está muerto”

Slides:

Download (PDF, 845KB)

Videos:

Verbo ser:

Verbo estar:

Ejercicios:

https://espanol.lingolia.com/es/gramatica/verbos/ser-estar/ejercicios