saying words in the right context? Help!
Hi everyone!
As you can see from my pervious post am having some trouble saying certain words in the correct context. The english word "I" for example can be said as las, la and el in spanish. Can I use any of these words when referring to I? Also the english word "are" can be "estan", "son" and "estas" in spanish! Can I use any of these when speaking? Finally the english "be" is "ser" or "estar" in spanish. Can I use either? As you all may have guessed by now am teaching myself spanish haha! I haven't had any formal classes but its defo something to think about 
Any helps much appreciated!
5 Answers
Hi Debz29,
Unless I am misreading or misinterpreting what you have written, I think that you may be mistaken about a few things.
First, the pronoun "I" is not expressed with the words "la, las, or el"
These words are definite articles that are analogous to the word "the" in English. It can also be used when the noun you are speaking about is meant to represent a class or group as a whole. For example: "Los padres" - parents (in a general sense).
Your second assumptions about the verb "estar" and "ser" is actually a very common point of confusion for English speakers trying to learn Spanish. In English, there is only one verb "to be" that can be conjugated various ways (is, am, are, was, etc) and is used consistently in all cases where a verb form of to be is required. In Spanish, as you have deduced, there are two different verbs that can be used for "to be." However, in Spanish, these verbs are not interchangeable and their usage varies with the situation being described.
I applaud your efforts at self-teaching and wish you the best of luck in your studies. As a suggestion, you would probably benefit by enrolling in the free video lessons available on this site. In addition, there are numerous reference articles available on specific grammar topics including the definite articles, personal pronouns and the verbs ser and estar.
Buenas Suertes.
HI deb, the most important thing is to go to
there you will find all the answers to your questions step by step.
Lessons are free and great fun
And to answer one aspect of your question directly - no, these different words for "the" or "to be" are not interchangable and must be matched to the gender of the noun and whom/what you are talking about. The answers (as you have probably guessed from the other replies) are very involved and fundamental aspects of learning spanish. But the videos in just the first lessons of Spanish 1 will answer these questions in depth - so dive in! Enjoy! And never give up!
One other side to this that you are going to make mistakes. Don't get yourself all worked up about, because it simply cannot be avoided. Growth is half about making mistakes. Use your words. Make your mistakes. All of us have made the most outrageous mistakes in our pursuit of speaking spanish, but we've all arrived, in due time, at being able to communicate our minds. It's good that you ask the question, but you should also strike the balance...know that you are going to make mistakes, and don't freak yourself about it. Ask your questions as well. And in the fullness of time, you will be where you want to be. 
I have to defer to Heidita's reply. Your questions are fundamental to understanding the language, and they're all covered in a few short segments in Lesson 1. (If you took a course at a university, these would be things you learn in Spanish 101 and 102.)
