ser /estar
When do you use ser, and when do you use estar??
7 Answers
There seems to be a lot to it, but some general rules I've been taught for using estar are: 1. To describe health 2. To tell location 3. With adjectives that describe temporary conditions (estoy enfermo) 4. With the present progressive tense
A couple general uses of ser are: 1. To tell time 2. To express possesion 3. To express origin or one's nationality. 4. With adjectives that describe basic characteristics. (Soy bajo) 5. To tell what something is made of. ( Los calcetines son de lana)
There are plenty more uses for the two, but in general I think that estar is used for temporary states while ser deals with states that are more permanent.
En la descripción (nacionalidad, origen, aspecto físico, profesión, carácter..) se usa el verbo ser. Para hablar de características que presentamos como temporales se usa estar. Para hablar de la ubicación y de la posición se usa estar. Para hablar de acciones que se desarrollan en el presente se usa estar + gerundio.
Hope this will help you a little.
This is a huge topic that could never be answered in a few sentences or paragraphs. Even answering this question in the form of a book would require a highly educated native speaker to write hundreds, if not thousands of pages. The best thing I can recommend is starting with the basics and asking specific questions with specific examples.
I don´t have a whole lot of time to do this, but I´ll try to make it as short and sweet as possible. First, you can never really learn all the different uses of the two without experience, because there are exceptions and all sorts of stuff like that. But the basic rule is this. "Ser" is for things that are more permanent or that pertain to the nature of the thing whereas "estar" refers to temporary things that can change without mucho worry.
For example, to say "he is seated" you would use "estar" "está sentado", because if you use "ser" "es sentado" it gives the idea that someone put superglue on the guys seat and he has been stuck there his whole life.. not exactly, but i hope it helps to express the answer. The best thing to help learn the difference, though, is practice with people who already know.
Do a search. You will find hundreds of threads about this.
For how you feel and where you are (located) always use "Estar".
