Sentence of the day - ser v. estar?

Question

Hola, soy nuevo aquí. Hello, I'm new here.

Before I contact the administrator of my other flashcard site, I want to be clear in my thinking and interpretation of the above sentence. Since the use of soy is for a permanent condition, I would think that estoy would be the better choice. The fact of being new at your place of employment will not last long. In fact the next day you will no longer be considered "new". Did I get this right?

Gracias

Answer 1

You need to read the difference between Estar and Ser according to the CID method.

When you are using new (member) as a categorization (new members vs old members) Ser is the correct choice. Soy una persona nueva.

We usually recommend not using that permanent/temporary criteria as it has many exceptions like "está muerto".

You could also use "estoy nueva aquí", if you are just describing your situation or condition. (as an adjective, more than a noun)

Answer 2

There are times when estar and ser can be used interchangably. For example, I can use either to say

Soy/estoy gordo, delgado, casado...

I wouldn't be surprised if this extends to nuevo aquí. True you won't be new forever, but it describes your position, just as you say, soy alumno, even though you won't be a student forever.

And if I'm talking through my hat, someone will let me know soon!

Best,

J

Answer 3

I'm with Gfreed on this one. The usual way of saying that a person is new in a job, class, etc.. would be: "soy nuevo aquí", or "soy el nuevo" to say "I'm the new guy". "Estoy nuevo" seems to describe that you think you are in mint condition, and that you were ordered from a shopping catalog. In other words, "estar nuevo" is reserved for objects.

Then again, in other context you could use "estar" for people, for things like: "¿Qué tal el masaje? Excelente, estoy como nuevo". You can see that "nuevo" in that context seems to describe that you feel "reborn" or "brand new", almost as an object, rather than being new in a job, etc..

Bill, just so you know, it is Qfreed:) - Yeser007, Sep 23, 2010

Answer 4

Hi, Foxlove. I agree with you (for what it's worth). Estoy sounds correct to me.

Answer 5

Looking at it from a completely different angle - if, on the spur of the moment I was not sure whether to use ser or estar for "I am new" I would try and re-arrange my phrase and say something like: "Hola, hoy es mi primer día aquí"