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Ser vs Estar: An introduction
When you come across a situation where you need
to translate one of the many forms of the English verb "To
Be" we encounter a problem perhaps more confusing than Hamlet's
existential dilemma. To wit, we too must decide whether "to
be or not to be."
To tackle the problem, it is wise to make this
preliminary test:
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Is
the sentence expressing the existence of an object or person(s)?
e.g. "There is no time." or "There was an enormous
explosion." "There will not be anymore left."
If so, this requires one of the forms of the verb HABER to express
"there is" etc. It is also possible to substitute
the verb EXISTIR for this.
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The
various forms of the HABER used to express existence in the
various tenses are: HAY, HUBO, HABÍA, HABRÁ, HABRÍA, HAYA, HUBIERA,
HABIDO, HA HABIDO.
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Is
the sentence one of the many expressions that Spanish translates
with the verbs HACER or TENER?. eg. Weather expressions: HACE
SOL. Some physiological states, etc. TENGO SED, TENGO PRISA,
TENGO SUEÑO. |
If not, then you are probably dealing with one
of the forms of either SER or ESTAR. Here is a useful flow chart
for distinguishing these. I think that at this point it would be
even more worthwhile to provide a list of possible substitutions
by which you can improve your Spanish style.
The next step is to look at what follows
the verb "to be"...
| If
it is a Noun, the decision is simple--you are naming or identifying,
and you must use SER: Es un lápiz. Son estudiantes. |
| If it is a progressive participle, you are describing an action in
progress, and you must use ESTAR: Está comiéndose las
uñas. |
| adjective (a description) |
| Is the adjective a past participle? (a verb converted to its
adjective form) such as: to break--broken (roto), to see--seen
(visto), to tell--told (dicho), to make--made (hecho), to
speak--spoken (hablado) to eat--eaten (comido), to write--written
(escrito) etc. |
| If so, use SER for passive voice and ESTAR for resultant state. La casa fue construida por Jack. (referring
to the process of building it) Ahora, la casa
está construida. (it is in the state of being
built) Click this link for more info on passive
voice and resultant state. |
| OR, is it a "pure adjective" (unrelated to a verb) such as: red (rojo), tall (alto),
sick (enfermo), bueno, etc. |
| If so, use SER to express an objective statement, a description of characteristics or essence, that which is the
"norm" for the subject, or a description/identification of
political/religious/professional "affiliation." |
| Use ESTAR to express a subjective statement, a description of a changing state or condition, that which is
"non-norm" for the subject, or an immediate sensory experience like "seems", "tastes", "feels",
etc. |
| Preposition "EN" (Location) |
| ESTAR for locating people, places and things (tangible substances). These structures are very common. |
| SER for locating events (things that happen-take place) These structures are fairly
rare. |
| Preposition "DE" |
| ESTAR for a few idiomatic expressions: Está de vacaciones. There are not many of these,
so "de" rarely follows estar. |
| SER for possession, origin or material something is
made of: Ella es de California. El anillo es de oro.
El anillo es de Josefina. This structure is extremely
common in Spanish, especially since it is used to express
possession. |
This should cover the vast majority of cases
you will encounter.
TIPS FOR IMPROVING
YOUR SPANISH (for Intermediate Students)
When ESTAR is used to locate an object, you
can often substitute one of the following verbs: quedar, quedarse
(animate objects only), colocar, localizar, morar, residir, esperar,
continuar, permanecer.
When ESTAR refers to subjective remarks or immediate
sensory experiences like "it looks" or smells, or seems,
or sounds, you can use a more specific verb: parecerle, sentir,
oler, percibir, saber a, parecer, verse
It is also possible to replace structures like
"He is drunk" with "He intoxicated himself."
This provides a very much more dynamic verbal structure.
eg. emborracharse, enfermarse, alegrarse,
enojarse.
Don't forget that Spanish frowns upon the use
of the passive voice. Replace it
with SE + Active Verb.:
El contrato es firmado --> Se firma el contrato.
(See the section on SER/ESTAR with Adjectives above) Notice that the direct object of the active voice sentence
becomes the subject of the passive
voice, the original subect disappears, or becomes an agent with
"by/por". Then, in the passive se structure, that subject
must appear AFTER the verb:
Active voice: Ellos firman el contrato
Passive voice: El contrato es firmado (por ellos--optional)
Passive se: Se firma el contrato (por ellos--optional).
The purpose of the
passive voice is stylistic. It allows you to take the emphasis
off of the agent of the action, and put it on the recipient/patient
of the action. It has a tendency to sound "impersonal."
The passive se structure puts the emphasis on the verb, thus making
for a very dynamic structure, but still impersonal.
It is possible to replace SER with structures
containing: resultar, dedicarse a, se hace de, se compone de,
constituir, poseer, tomar lugar en, venir de, proceder de, producir,
cumplir, formar, consistir en. Es estudiante ---> Estudia.
Es trabajador --> trabaja mucho Es tomado por --> Se toma
por.
Of course it is not necessary to do this at
all times or in all cases. Sometimes it just isn't possible to do.
Further, the occasional use of SER or ESTAR will be a more pleasant
and welcome stylistic element if they are reduced in frequency.
NOTE: it is generally necessary to rethink &
rewrite the sentence to utilize these substitutions.
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