In English there is
only one form
of the verb,
to be
.
In Spanish there are
two,
ser
and
estar.
I
he
she
we
you
they, you
am
is
is
are
are
are
was
was
was
were
were
were
will be
will be
will be
will be
will be
will be
was
was
was
were
were
were
(or used to be)
Present
Imperfect
Future
SER – TO BE
Past
Estar – TO BE
soy
eres
es
somos
sois
son
yo
tú
él, ella, usted
nosotros
vosotros
ellos, ustedes
era
eras
era
éramos
eráis
eran
seré
serás
será
seremos
seráis
serán
fui
fuiste
fue
fuimos
fuisteis
fueron
yo
tú
él, ella, usted
nosotros
vosotros
ellos, ustedes
estoy
estás
está
estamos
estáis
están
estaba
estabas
estaba
estábamos
estabais
estaban
estaré
estarás
estará
estaremos
estaréis
estarán
estuve
estuviste
estuvo
estuvimos
estuvisteis
estuvieron
Use
ser
to describe
permanent conditions
.
I am tall. Yo soy alto
I am strong. Yo soy fuerte.
I am intelligent. Yo soy inteligente.
Use
estar
to describe
temporary conditions or location
.
(It’s
also used with
–
ing
participles.)
I am nervous. Yo estoy nervioso.
I am in the house. Yo estoy en la casa.
I am talking. Yo estoy hablando.
ESTARSER
English Translation (to be)
TO BE
Verbs: Ser-Estar
224
Subject
Pronouns
HELPFUL HINT
Ser
and
estar
can be
interchangeable depending on the
situation.
Yo soy nervioso. - I am nervous. (the nervous-type)
Yo estoy nervioso. - I am nervous. (temporary situation)
(See pages 25, 33,
and 57).
BOX 1
Contents
Print Book 
