Ser y Estar

[ricktoronto]

A tip: P.L.A.C.E. for Estar:

Position: expresses the physical position of posture of a person or thing:
estar sentado estar levantado estar acostado

Location: expresses where places, people, or things are located:
estoy en Nueva York El libro está en la mesa

Action: expresses the result of an action or the progressive
el hombre está muerto estoy comiendo ahora

Condition: expresses health and other changeable states
estar enfermo estar sucio estar lleno

Emotion: expresses emotions such as
estar contento estar triste estar deprimido

[heldengebroed]

Always have been tought that:

You use estar when you have something that can change (where you are, emotions,...

and ser for something that is definitife like your nationality

exception death

it isn't "es meurto" but "esta muerto"

Son loco los gentes que hablan español

[mofi]

Your example about death is because of their beliefs. Most believe that after death one goes to heaven ect, so infact they are just in another life and not really gone at all, that is why the say esta muerta instead of es muerta.

[juancarlos]

Originally Posted by mofi

Your example about death is because of their beliefs. Most believe that after death one goes to heaven ect, so infact they are just in another life and not really gone at all, that is why the say esta muerta instead of es muerta.

Hey, I had never thought about it, but I think you are right! Most people do believe that death is a transition and that the non material component, consciousnes, the soul etc. goes into another dimension. Not necessarily "heaven", but that they are "there" somewhere or on the other side. I think that is a universal belief not limited to Spanish speakers, obviously, but it is a good theory. There are things or concepts behind the way one speaks that one is not always aware of.

[xamaicano]

Originally Posted by heldengebroed

Always have been tought that:

You use estar when you have something that can change (where you are, emotions,...

and ser for something that is definitife like your nationality

exception death

it isn't "es meurto" but "esta muerto"

Son loco los gentes que hablan español

The reason this is problematic is because the transitory (estar) vs permanent (ser) explanation is an incomplete one when explaining the difference between the two verbs. For a some people there profession is transitory that changes during the course of their lives but we always use ser when talking about profession. Years ago I was a student (era estudiante), now I am not (soy ingeniero). I think best explanation I've gotten is that one deals with whatness (ser) and the other howness (estar). Él es muerto (what is he? a dead person) que está muerto (how is he? he is dead).

[Chirimoya]

I am Ok with 'ser' and 'estar' until I have to speak about something in the past. Fue/era? Which one is 'used to be' and 'was'?

[Lesley D]

Chiri,

If I said to you:

1. Así era

2. Así fue

How would you translate that in English?

The best way I can explain this in brief is:

"era"- is used to describe repeated actions or continuous concepts in the past. Also used for general "decriptions" in the past.

"fue"- sólo en algún momento dado. Usually there is a specific reference to time such as "ayer", "la semana pasada", "anoche" etc.


LDG.

Originally Posted by Chirimoya

I am Ok with 'ser' and 'estar' until I have to speak about something in the past. Fue/era? Which one is 'used to be' and 'was'?

[Rick Snyder]

I need help in the use of the past tense for (was) and (were) i.e.:

1. I was there yesterday.
2. He was president in 1996.
3. We were waiting for you.
4. They were in Spain.
5. Were you at the party?

My understanding is that the past tense of estar and/or ser is fui, fuiste etc. but at the same time I hear estaba etc., AND I'M SO CONFUSED!

Also what is the proper translation of (sin embargo)?

Thanks.

[pkaide1]

You have to understand that "Ser" y "Estar" in spanish are two completelly different verbs. In english we use "to be" to describe both, but in Spanish is a whole different history.

[pkaide1]

I will say that a proper translation for "sin embargo" would be "even though"