How To Say Were In Spanish

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"Ser" or "Estar"?

the two ways of saying "to be" in Spanish, and when to use each one

Unlike English, Spanish has two forms of the verb "to be".

("To be" is the really mutual verb that lets u.s.a. say that "he is in the hot air balloon", or "they are fantastic socks", or "I am a snappy dresser".)

The 2 forms of "to be" in Spanish are Ser and Estar.

I'll explicate when to use each one in a moment, just start let'due south see what they look like. Here'southward how to say "I am...", "you are...", "they are..." etc, using both ser and estar.

you all are
(Latin American Spanish)

you all are
(European Spanish)

When to use "ser"

Yous'll utilize words from the "ser" column when you lot're talking almost permanent states or characteristics.

Our girl María is smart. Not just today, only all the time. And then nosotros utilize ser, considering we're talking about a permanent characteristic.

Likewise, Jose is going to stay an architect, I'm going to continue to exist tall, and I volition always be brothers with my blood brother. And so in all these cases y'all would use ser

Merely when I'thousand talking about my friend who is in the hot air balloon (a distinctly non-permanent situation) I would utilize estar instead.

When to use "estar"

Estar (and its various forms) is used when talking about something that is a non-permanent country or location.

Los perrosestán en mi casa

The dogs are at my house

All of these situations are not permanent states or characteristics, so nosotros employ estar. Maria has been well in the past and will hopefully get better, and then that'south not permanent. Juan isn't nailed to his floorboards, so that'due south non permanent either.

In particular, you would always employ estar when you're talking about someone beingness at a particular location — since people tin and do motion around!

Mi amigoestá en la oficina

Correct. "My friend is at the office"

Mi amigoes en la oficina

Nope. This loosely translates to "my friend exists at the office" which is a weird affair to say.

A adept way to see the difference is to pay another visit to Maria:

Maria looks pretty today / at this detail moment

If you lot use ser, and then Maria is a pretty girl in full general. If you use estar, it might be considering she's dressed up for a party. Ane is a permanent characteristic, and the other is a temporary country.

Source: https://www.thespanishexperiment.com/learn-spanish/to-be