The Differences between “ser” and “estar”

There are two verbs that mean “to be” in Spanish, ser and estar. Ser is used in a simple way, to talk about WHAT something is (permanent state), and to describe characteristics that are an essential part of the thing we’re talking about. Estar is used to talk about HOW something is (temporary state), so we use it for conditions, locations, emotions, and actions.

Now that we know that we have two verbs meaning “to be” in Spanish, how do we know how to choose between them? In our previous lessons we talked about the verbs SER and ESTAR and how they both mean “to be” in Spanish. Today, we are going to talk about how to know when to use each one.

The easiest way to choose between SER and ESTAR is to decide if the sentence is about:

1. Location
2. Condition/Feeling
   OR
3.  Present Progressive Tense (-ing)

If the sentence is about one of these topics above, you use ESTAR! If the sentence does not involve one of these scenarios, you will use SER. Watch out for two common exceptions to the permanent/temporary idea: the location of an event uses SER (La fiesta es en mi casa = The party is at my house), and death uses ESTAR (Está muerto = He is dead).

Here are the scenarios for using SER:

1. Description
2. Occupation
3. Time
4. Origin
5. Possession