Question about ser/estar

Question

Hola,

Is it possible to say "El presidente es malo"? In my grammar book there's an exercise where you have to make all possible sentences using the words from various columns (it's a ser/estar exercise) and the answers list "El presidente está malo" but not the same with "ser". I would have thought the "ser" version was possible too, but just wanted to check.

Any help much appreciated, Rangi

Answer 1

Hi Rangi, it's possible but it doesn't mean the same thing as the other.

El presidente está malo. (He could be sick or he's not feeling well.)

El presidente es malo. (This is about his personality.)

Why don't you have a look at the learning section of this website?

1.11 - Ser vs. Estar

Answer 2

Hi, Ran. Great question.

I would say that:

1) El presidente está malo = the president feels poorly (he's ill)

2) El presidente es malo = the president is a bad guy (his personality)

Answer 3

Indeed. In fact, if you check out any online version of a Spanish newspaper with a right-wing bias, you'll probably find not just one, but multiple instances of that 'sentence' in relation to our own, socialist president

By the way, 'El presidente es malo' can mean both that he is a bad person, or that he's a bad president. I was of course referring to the latter.

Answer 4

Muchas gracias guys, thanks very much for the help! ¡Feliz navidad! Rangi