Ser changing into Estar in the past tense!?

Question

The breakfast is delicious. El desayuno es sabroso.

In the above scenario, which is the present indicative tense, we used ser to translate is.

However, recently when I wrote the same sentence in the past tense, a native speaker corrected my fue with estuvo. I am so confused now! Why would we use ser in the present tense but estar in the past for the same sentence?

Answer 1

If you want to indicate you enjoyed a meal, then estar has to be used in either tense. Using "ser" complicates things, so to try and make it clearer, you could say that eating early in the morning is (es) delicious, while eating at noon or in teh evening is not (no lo es).

Am sorry for being dumb here but I am still kinda confused. All I want to talk about is the meal’s taste regardless of when I had it. Isn’t taste an innate quality calling for a ser? Estar is used for more temporary conditions, isn’t it? - amitsch, Mar 15, 2014

IF you like chicken a lot you'll say "el pollo ES delicoso", but when you bite a rotten chunk of it, you'll say, "esta pollo E S T Á horrible". - diagonx, Mar 15, 2014

Yes, I've had this conversation with Cordobesa, long ago, and she said ' la comida estaba rica'. Estar for commenting on food. . - annierats, Mar 15, 2014

So whenever I have to compliment someone for their food, would it be safe to just use estar regardless of tense? - amitsch, Mar 15, 2014

Similarly, if I am just stating that I generally find something delicious (e.g., Tacos are tasty), I should use ser? - amitsch, Mar 15, 2014

Answer 2

Smile a lot.

Say ' Muy rico'' '' Me gusta'', ''Que delicioso...''

In this way you can express delight without worrying and you will be a popular guest. In this sort of situation it's better to get talking and express gratitude, without worrying too much about being 100% correct but thought a very unforthcoming and ungrateful guest.

Answer 3

Este desayuno está delicioso.

Los desayunos son deliciosos