Ser and Estar - Just as i thought I'd got it sussed ........

Question

I really thought I had this sussed and then got thrown.

Why if I am 'ready' or 'invited' do I use 'estar', but if I am 'organised' I use 'ser'? i.e. Tengo que ser mas organisada.

Ser and estar keep haunting me too. ;o) - katydew, Apr 7, 2013

Ukali, please see the ninth comment below my original response. Thank you. - brian5764, Apr 9, 2013

Answer 1

I am ready--- Estoy listo (estar is used in conditions which are not permanent. You may not be ready at a certain point, hence the use of estar vs. ser).

I am invited - I would not use ser or estar here because I prefer to use active voice to passive voice. I would say: Me invitaron (They invited me). However, if passive voice is what you want to use, then I would say: He sido invitado. (I have been invited).

I am organized - You can use both. Soy organizado means that generally speaking you are an organized person. If you say estoy organizado, it means that you have made an effort to get things together for a particular purpose, especially if things had been in disarray.

Hope this helps!

That makes sense. Thanks so much. - ukali, Apr 6, 2013

Crystal clear. - katydew, Apr 7, 2013

Answer 2

This website does a good job explaining the differences! Check it out.

Ser vs Estar

Answer 3

First of all I am not a grammarian, however, condider your sentence below.

Tengo que ser mas organisada.

By the way the verb is organizar with a "z" and I believe your above sentence is using the word organizada as an adjective which is confusing you with the use of ser, ie, you have to be a more organised person.

I believe you can say "normalmente estoy organizada" used as a temporary condition but I would prefer to rephrase your above sentence as follows

Tengo que organizarme, (sounds more Spanish)

Answer 4

These are great links to help you out:

Study Spanish Ser vs. Estar

Grammar list

At study spanish they have several parts for ser and estar

and at SD Under the verb category they have several uses for ser and estar

Hope that helps

Answer 5

“Sussed”? It seems that this so-called word must be intentional because you typed it twice. I.e., it doesn’t seem likely that it’s a typo. What on earth do you mean, “sussed”? I’d recommend that you make your comments and/or questions as clear as possible. Using (regional?) lingo or slang does not accomplish that. Is this term some bizarre neologism? In any case, it doesn’t help anybody, including those who are trying to learn English. In my case—and I’m not trying to learn English—I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’m familiar with dialects other than my own, including British English, Canadian English, Indian English, etc.! More importantly, how do you suppose that members of SpanishDict can get an idea of where you’re coming from, (regionally or otherwise) with your blank profile?

It could be mainly British Brian, but it's commonly used here in NZ too and appears in American dictionaries such as the Merriam Webster etc. It means to infer, discover or figure out. - Kiwi-Girl, Apr 7, 2013

Sussed is plenty common in American English, and I´ve heard it in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, but do hear it more often from British or Aus. Not that rare, but I admit I don´t know where it comes from, probably exactly because it seems so common. - rogspax, Apr 7, 2013

Oh, and I agree with Kiwi´s definitions in general, though I´ve never thought of it specifically as discover, primarily, as figure out. - rogspax, Apr 7, 2013

OK folks. I’ve never heard of such nonsense. But whatever. It’s after midnight in my world. Time to sign off and have—as Rogspax might say—a tequila. Or two. Or three. Que tengan una buena noche. - brian5764, Apr 7, 2013

In South Africa it's a comment about something yukky, like a picture of rotten food, ....suss. - katydew, Apr 7, 2013

Brian, it appears from your somewhat petulant response that I have upset you. It was not my intention to upset anyone or use incorrect English. You will find in the Oxford Dictionary of English that "sussed" can be used either as a verb or an adjective. - ukali, Apr 7, 2013

Oh we use it like that too Katy, eeew that's a but suss lol - Kiwi-Girl, Apr 9, 2013

see Rod Stewart lyrics - DR1960, Apr 9, 2013

Frankly, I still think this term must be regional, be it in dictionaries or not. Otherwise, how could someone never have heard of it before? But I guess that’s beside the point: I overreacted. So, my apologies to all concerned, especially Ukali. - brian5764, Apr 9, 2013