What is the correct word for "is"?
What is the correct word for "is"?
10 Answers
Hello 8018melody,
Well, that depends very much upon the context!
In English we only have one verb to mean: to be which doesn't change a great deal throughout the conjugations of the present indicative, for example (and even less in the future and other indicative tenses):
I am
You are (singular)
he/she is
You are (plural)
We are
They are
However, the Spanish use two verbs to mean to be::
ser and estar
I am not going to try to explain every situation in which you would use either verb.. I do not have the time and have no intention of reinventing the wheel! I will, however, provide a link so that you can read up about it for yourself in the Spanish grammar section of SpanishDict!.enter link description here There are many other articles about Ser and Estar here...this is just one of them!
Here are a few examples:
estar = to be
location./situation:
Está en su oficina = He is in his office.
Están en el parque = They are in the park.
It is also used to form the present progressive tense: Estoy trabajando en casa =I am working at home.
There are colloquial and idiomatic expressions using the verb estar
Estás en tu casa = Make yourself at home
Está lloviendo a cántaros = It's raining cats and dogs (or, it's bucketing down)
Ser is used for describing people's characteristics:
(Él es) Es artístico = He is artistic
(Ella es) Es atlética =She is athletic
Son desordenados =They are disoraganised
Ser is used to tell the time:
¿Qué hora es? = What time is it? Son las cinco y media de la tarde = It is five thirty in the afternoon.
My final example:
Ser is used to indicate a person's occupation:
Eres albañil = You are a builder
Son médicos =They are doctors
Update: Ian is correct in saying that you have not shown us even the most basic courtesy of saying please or thank you! Good manners go a long way in encouraging people to respond positively to your posts! Please complete your profile so we know how best to help you in future! Thank you! 
I hope this helps
I don't think this post deserves an answer.
NO SD profile information.
There is a dictionary to look at.
No please or thank you.
No personal effort at all.
is = comes from the verb "to be"
estar = to be / Ella está trabajando (She is working).
ser = to be / Ella es médica (She is a doctor).
Expressions in English and Spanish do not always have a simple one-to-one correlation, and as others have mentioned, additional context is often important. The question that you have asked is a prime example of this fact. Evidence for this can be observed in the following set of examples (By the way, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list).
"Estar" is generally used to describe a state of being
- He is tired—Está cansado
- He is bored—Está aburrido
"Ser" is used when defining or classifying
- He is boring/He is a boring person—Es aburrido
- He is tall—Es alto
- It is from Spain—Es de España
- Two plus two is four—Dos más dos son cuatro.
"Tener" can be used to refer to someone's age
- He is four years old—Tiene cuatro años.
"Haber" can be used with certain impersonal expressions
- There is too much corruption in Spain—Hay demasiado corrupción en España
- There is nothing to say—No hay nada que decir
"Hacer" can be used with certain impersonal expressions involving the weather.
¿Qué tiempo hace?—What is the weather like?
It is hot—Hace calor.
It is cold—Hace frío
Certain passive expressions use the pronoun "se"
- The verb "ser" is used to conjugate verbs in the passive voice—Se usa el verbo "ser" para conjugar los verbos en la voz pasiva.
Context is absolutely necessary. As stated by others ser and estar are the answer to arriving at the word for "is". But there is also "hay, hubo, etc" for "is there, there is, was there, there was, etc. So context of how you wish to use "is" is critical.
Watch lesson 1.11 Ser V.S. Estar/Lección de reloj 1.11 Ser V.S. Estar
«es» singular, «son» plural
The dog is from Canada. / El perro es de Canadá.
The murderers are stupid. / Los asesinos son estúpidos.
Even in English, context is essential. "Is" is just one form of the verb"to be", and could also be am, are, is, was, were, or will be. The same is true in Spanish, just to a somewhat greater degree.
This reminds me of Bill Clinton's testimony to the grand jury in the US.
"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."
It would probably make as much sense in Spanish as it does in English, ie none.
he is happy
