I am having trouble with Estar,Ser,Por and Para
I have read all the rules, studied them in a few classes now, but rules on paper are not sticking in my mind. I think I need a lot of examples. If I had a ton of example sentences, I could easily associate and build my own from there... Can anybody provide me with several detailes example sentences for each rule? I realize this is a work-intensive request. Do you guys have any other tips for mastering the usage of ser, estar, por and para?
Thanks a lot for reading.
4 Answers
Good stuff! Thanks everybody!
Ser and estar are the most difficult to learn... don't worry, you'll get it... alice_m recommended me to this site: http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/100040/ser-and-estar and http://www.spanishdict.com/learn/show/12. those sites helped my a lot. "para" is used for "for" and "por" is used for "by".
Por/ para
Example:
Esto libro es para Sally. (This book is for Sally.)
Esto libro es por Sally. (This book is [written] by Sally).
I would recommend going into a bookstore and finding the language reference section & flipping through an assortment of grammar books to read their examples for both ser/estar and por/para. I actually think you have exactly the right idea to mastering it.... observe them with enough examples and it will set in.
Another thing you could do it do an internet search for both topics and make a Word file for each with two columns... paste examples into the "ser" column and into the "estar" colum until you fill up enough, and do the same comparing "por" and "para".
Just keep practicing! You'll get it! As a student myself, I'm still not 100% on the uses of ser, estar, por and para. You're not the only one!
