Ser vs estar for age?

Question

I'm not talking about telling someone your age (I am __ years old) I am talking about sentences like "He is young" or "We were so young" "She is old" "We are old."

I kinda want to use estar since these are all temporary, age changes. But age is also an inherent quality of someone so I kind of want to use ser..

Welcome to the forum , we want to help you so fill out your profile If you have a problem PM a mod Bienvenido al foro. Queremos ayudarle, entonces hay que llenar su perfil. Si hay un problema, envíe un mensaje personal (PM) - ray76, Nov 12, 2015

It would be nice if you could start your sentence along the lines of , 'Hi my name is Fosdick would you please answer my question , thanks guys. - ray76, Nov 12, 2015

Answer 1

I wish that every text book that says that "estar" is used for "temporary" could be torn up, and thrown into a fire. "Ser" is used to describe characteristics, while "estar" is used to speak of condition.

La puerta es grande y pesada. (characteristics) La puerta está cerrada (condition/state)

See my article on ser and estar. link to ser/estar

Therefore, Pedro es viejo. Ana es joven. Your sentences: Eramos tan jóvenes. Ella es vieja. Somos viejos. (Some people prefer "anciano" to "viejo" )

Now that I have answered your question, could you do me a favor and fill out your profile. Your levels of English and Spanish are especially important to us in knowing at what level and which language to answer your questions. You'll even get my vote as well as others for filling out your profile.

Buena suerte.

Nice to see that you are still on our side cheeky chops. - ray76, Nov 12, 2015

You got the wrong person. I'm the Feisty Yank sheila. - Daniela2041, Nov 12, 2015

Thanks a lot for your article Daniela! I am now grateful to Daniel for asking his question!:) - marksteve, Nov 12, 2015

Gracias Daniela. Apenas lo llené. - Danielhrta, Nov 12, 2015

You should be a teacher! - marksteve, Nov 12, 2015

Yo sí soy profesora de español en una universidad en California. - Daniela2041, Nov 12, 2015

I of course vote for anything that says the temporary vs. permanent concept is stupid. :) - bosquederoble, Nov 12, 2015

I vote for 2 "to be" verbs being stupid. - gringojrf, Nov 12, 2015

I am sure Spanish speakers feel the same about our make/do distinction. :) - bosquederoble, Nov 12, 2015

How about "of" and "from?" I used to teach ESL and that was a tricky one to get across. - Daniela2041, Nov 12, 2015

How about on vs. in. My favorite is on a bus vs on a car. I am inside in one case and on top on the other.:) - bosquederoble, Nov 12, 2015

Answer 2

Dani: Has escuchado/oído decir "está bastante viejo el vejete ese"?

Claro qu he oído de eso, pero es algo fuera del uso normal. Es más o menos para expresar una opinión. - Daniela2041, Nov 12, 2015

Es que se necesita explicar esto también al estudiante. Bueno, yo lo hago. - chileno, Nov 13, 2015