Ser vs. Estar

While both of these verbs mean "to be" and are used all the time in daily communication, the following simple rules should help you to differentiate between the two.

Uses of Ser

General Ser Rule

Ser is used to classify and identify permanent or lasting attributes. If the general rule isn´t specific enough for you, think of the acronym DOCTOR, which stands for Description, Occupation, Characteristic, Time, Origin, and Relationship.

1. Description

For description, think of what you would say if someone asked you "What´s he like?" These are the essential qualities that define a person and probably won´t change. They can be a name or a physical description.

• Yo soy Raúl. (I am Raúl.)
• Yo soy alta, morena, y delgada. (I am tall, dark-skinned, and thin.)

2. Occupation

Occupations are seen as life-long careers and are therefore seen as more "permanent" than many people would think in the United States.

• Soy profesora del español. (I am a Spanish teacher.)
• Éllos son estudiantes. (They are students.)
• Mi padre era jardinero. (My father was a gardener.)

No Indefinite Articles

Notice that the indefinite articles un, una, unos, and unas are omitted when describing an occupation after the verb ser.

3. Characteristic

Characteristics are personality descriptions of a person. These would probably be the second thing you say to "What´s he like?"

• Amalia es inteligente, atrevida, y amable. (Amalia is intelligente, daring, and friendly.)
• Mi esposo es romántico y cariñoso. (My husband is romantic and caring.)

4. Time

Time includes days, dates, and hours. For hours, use es for one o´clock and son for all other hours.

• Hoy es miércoloes. (Today is Wednesday.)
• Ayer fue mi cumpleaños. (Yesterday was my birthday.)
• Ahora es la una y media. (Right now it´s one thirty.)
• Son las cinco y veintecinco. (It´s five twenty five.)

5. Origin

As the place a person is from or the material something is made from is not going to change we use ser for origin.

• Celia es de España. (Celia is from Spain.)
• Adela es peruana. (Adela is Peruvian.)
• Mi anillo es de oro. (My ring is gold.)

6. Relationship

Even after someone dies or someone breaks up, relationships are described using ser.

Religion is a Relationship

Also, since religion is considered a relationship with a higher power, religions are also described using ser.

• Lynne es mi madre. (Lynne is my mother.)
• Marcos es mi ex-novio. (Marcos is my ex-boyfriend.)
• Andrés es católico. (Andrés is Catholic.)

Uses of Estar

General Estar Rule

Estar is used to indicate temporary states and locations. If the general rule doesn´t suffice, think of the acronym PLACE, which stands for Position, Location, Action, Condition, and Emotion.

1. Position

Position is the physical position or posture a person or thing is in.

• Mi abuela está sentada. (My grandmother is sitting down/seated.)
• Yo estaba acostada cuando me llamaste. (I was lying down when you called me.)

2. Location

The location of someone or something describes where it is permanently, temporarily, actually, or conceptually.

• El baño está a la derecha de la sala. (The bathroom is to the right of the living room.)
• Estamos en el café ahora y estarémos en el cine en 20 minutos. (We are at the café right now and we will be at the movie theatre in 20 minutes.)
• Mi abuelo está en la luna. (My grandfather is out of it/lost.)

Exception for Parties

This is a big one: The location of an event or party is described using SER. Not ESTAR!

• La fiesta es en mi casa. (The party is at my house.)

3. Action

Estar is used to describe an ongoing action using the present progressive tense.

• Estoy lavando los platos sucios. (I am washing the dirty dishes.)
• Estamos leyendo los periódicos. (We are reading the newspapers.)
• Mi bisabuelo está muerto. (My great-grandfather is dead.)

Death is Ongoing Action

In Spanish, death is seen as an ongoing action, not a permanent state, thus you use the verb estar and not ser.

4. Condition

Physical and mental conditions are described using estar.

• Estoy tan cansada esta mañana. (I am so tired this morning.)
• Mis niños están enfermos hoy. (My children are sick today.)
• Mi madre está un poca loca. (My mother is (acting) a little crazy.)

5. Emotion

How a person is feeling at a certain moment is described using estar.

• Estoy triste. (I am sad.)
• Ella está contenta porque recibió unas flores de su novio. (She is happy because she received some flowers from her boyfriend.)

Meaning Changes With Ser and Estar

There are some words that can be used with both ser and estar, but take on different meanings depending on the verb. Below you will find a chart with both forms and their meanings in English.

Same Adjective, Different Meaning

Ser		Estar
ser aburrido	to be boring	estar aburrido	to be bored
ser bueno	to be good	estar bueno	to be tasty/attractive
ser cansado	to be a tiring person	estar cansado	to be tired
ser grave	to be serious	estar grave	to be seriously ill
ser listo	to be clever	estar listo	to be ready
ser malo	to be bad	estar malo	to be ill
ser orgulloso	to be coneited or vain	estar orgulloso	to be proud
ser moreno	to be dark-skinned	estar moreno	to be tanned
ser pálido	to be pale skinned	estar pálido	to be pale
ser pesado	to be heavy	estar pesado	to be tiresome
ser rico	to be rich	estar rico	to be tasty
ser seguro	to be safe	estar seguro	to be certain
ser verde	to be green	estar verde	to be unripe
ser viejo	to be old	estar viejo	to look old
ser vivo	to be sharp	estar vivo	to be alive

Exercises

1) Pick the correct conjugated form of ser or estar for each phrase and list the reason for why you chose your answer.

Example: (Soy/Estoy) bajo y perezoso. -> Soy - description and characteristic

1. La cena (es/está) en la mesa.
2. (Son/Están) las siete de la mañana.
3. Yo (soy/estoy) muy cansado. Tengo muchos exámenes mañana.
4. Mi madre (es/está) llamandome. Tengo que irme.
5. ¿De dónde (es/está) la Srta. Peris-Peris?
6. Ángela (es/está) policía en Nueva York.
7. Ahora (somos/estamos) en la oficina.
8. Mi ex-novio todavía (es/está) enojado.
9. Sus abuelos (son/están) muertos.
10. (Soy/Estoy) acostado ahora.

Click on "comments" to check your answers.

Information from www.spanishdict.com

Para vs. Por

Overview

If you ask anyone what the hardest thing about learning Spanish is, they will probably tell you 1. the subjunctive, 2. ser and estar, and 3. para and por. Para and por are especially frustrating because while they each have a variety of meanings, the easiest translation for both is "for." Below you will find a section for each preposition, a list of its most common uses, examples, and English translations.

Para

Para is generally seen like the end point or goal of an action indicating a purpose, a recipient, an opinion, a destination, a deadline, or a standard. The acronym PRODDS can be helpful in remembering this.

Purpose (in order to)

Para can indicate a purpose, or a goal that will be achieved.

• Estudio el español para hablar con gente de Argentia. (I study Spanish in order to talk to people from Argentina.
• Trabaja para ganar dinero. (He works in order to earn money.)
• Necesitamos hablar para discutir unas cosas importantes. (We need to talk in order to discuss some important things.

Recipient (for)

In this case, para indicates the person at the end of an action, the person who will receive the action.

• Este pastel es para mi madre. (This cake is for my mother.)
• Juan te llamó para ti. (Juan called for you.)

Opinion (for, according to)

It is helpful to state the speaker of an opinion with a phrase using para and the opinion-holder.

• Para mí, el español es más romántico que el italiano. (For me, Spanish is more romantic than Italian.)
• Los estudiantes son el futuro para la profesora. (The students are the future according to the teacher.)

Destination (for)

The destination or ending point for any object or person is indicated with para.

• Este cuadro es para un museo en Madrid. (This painting is for a museum in Madrid.)
• Salgo para Chile esta noche. (I leave for Chile tonight.)

Deadline (for, by, on)

To indicate when something is due, para indicates dates and times in the future.

• Esta tarea es para mañana. (This homework is for tomorrow.)
• Llámame para las nueve. (Call me by nine o´clock.)
• La cita es para el jueves. (The appointment is on Thursday.)

Standard (for)

A standard is used to compare something or someone to differentiate it from others in its group.

• Esta es deliciosa para una hamburguesa barata. (This is delicious for a cheap hamburger.)
• Para una tortuga, es muy rápida. (For a turtle, he is very fast.)

Some Useful Expressions with Para

There are very few expressions, or idioms, associated with para. Below you will find some of the most common ones.

Para Expressions

estar para	to be about to
para abajo	down, downward
para adelante	forward
para detrás	backward
para entonces	by that time
para esa época	by that time
para otra vez	for another occasion
para que	so that, in order that
¿para qué?	why? for what purpose?
para siempre	forever
para variar	just for a change
ser tal para cual	to be two of a kind

Por

Por is generally seen as the exchange or movement between two points to indicate a duration of time, a reason for doing something, an emotion, an exchange of items, a mode of communication or transportation, or a substitution. The acronym DREEMS can be helpful in remembering this.

Duration (for)

Por expresses how long something takes to happen.

• Viajamos en coche por ocho horas. (We traveled by car for eight hours.)
• Estudié por cinco horas. (I studied for five hours.)

Reason or Motive (because of)

In this case, por gives a reason for why something happened.

• Por su amor de español, siempre lo estudiaba. (Because of his love for Spanish, he always studied it.)
• Por el número de gente que vino, pediré más comida. (Because of the number of people who came, I ordered more food.)

Emotion (for)

To express an emotion that you have for someone, use por.

• Tengo tanto amor por ti. (I have so much love for you.)
• La chica siente mucho celos por la estrella del cine. (The girl felt a lot of jealousy for the movie star.)

Exchange (for)

Por expresses the idea that one thing is given in exchange for another thing.

• Pagué $60 por estos zapátos. (I paid $60 for these shoes.)
• Te daré mi galleta por tu pastelito. (I´ll give you my cookie for your cupcake.)

Mode of Communication or Transportation/Movement (by, on, through)

To express the manner in which something or someone travels, use por.

• Viajamos por tren a Italia. (We travel by train to Italy.)
• Hablamos por teléfono anoche. (We talked on the phone last night.)
• Caminamos por el parque hace 2 días. (We walked through the park 2 days ago.)

Substitution (for, instead of)

Substitution is very similar to "exchange" in that someone or something is taking the place of another person or thing.

• Hay una maestra reemplazante por Señora Martinez hoy. (There is a substitute teacher for Mrs. Martinez today.)
• Fui al supermercado por mi madre porque ella estuvo enferma. (I went to the grocery store instead of my mother because she was sick.)

A Lot of Useful Expressions with Por

Below you will find a list of common expressions, or idioms, using por. While it may seem large, this is by no means an exhaustive list.

Por Expressions

aprobó el examen por los pelos	he only just passed the exam	por lo menos	At least
día por día	Day by day	por lo mismo	For that very reason
estar por	To be in the mood to	por lo que a mí me toca	As far as I'm concerned
palabra por palabra	Word for word	por lo que he oido	Judging by what I've heard
por adelantado	In advance	por lo tanto	Therefore
por ahí, allí	Around there	por lo visto	Apparently
por ahora	For now	por malo que sea...	However bad it is...
por amor de Dios	For the love of God	por medio de	By means of
por aquí	This way	por mi parte	For my part
por casualidad	By chance	por motivo de	On account of
por ciento	Percent	por ningún lado	Nowhere
por cierto	Certainly	por orden	In order
por completo	completely	por otra parte	On the other hand
por completo	Completely	por poco	Almost
por correo	By mail/post	por primera/última vez	For the first/last time
por dentro	Inside	¿por qué?	Why? For what reason?
por desgracia	Unfortunately	por separado	Separately
¡por Dios!	Oh my God! For heaven's sake!	por si acaso	Just in case
por ejemplo	For example	por su propio mano	By one's own hand
por escrito	In writing	por suerte	Fortunately
por eso	Therefore, that's why	por supuesto	Of course
por favor	Please	por teléfono	On the phone, by phone
por fin	Finally	por todas partes	Everywhere
por la mañana, la tarde, la noche	In the morning, afternoon, evening	por todos lados	On all sides
por las buenas o por las malas	Whether you like it or not	por último	Finally
por lo común	Usually	por una parte	On the one hand
por lo demás	Furthermore	por un lado, por otro	On one hand, on the other hand
por lo general	Generally, in general	una vez por todas	Once and for all

Exercises

1) Fill in the blanks with either por or para. Make sure you are checking the "useful expressions" charts!

Example: Quiero jugar al voleibol ___ la mañana. -> Quiero jugar al voleibol por la mañana.

a) ¡___ favor, mamá! Quiero ir al cine.

b) Esta corbata es ___ mi padre.

c) ___ un ratón, es muy bonito.

d) Tuve que limpiar la cocina ___ mi hermana porque ella es perezosa.

e) ¿Cuesta $5.000 sólo ___ esto?

f) ___ mí, fue una película terrible.

g) Espero que él me llame ___ teléfono.

h) Voy a salir ___ mi casa.

i) Él siempre va al trabajo ___ bicicleta.

j) Mi hermano trabaja ___ Microsoft.

k) Hago ejercicio ___ mejorar mi salud.

l) Voy a levantarme a las 5 ___ variar.

m) Hablamos ___ casualidad.

n) ___ lo menos, quiero ver el Prado.

o) Pinté este cuadro ___ mi madre.

Click on "comments" to check your answers.

Information from www.spanishdict.com

La acentuación

Written accents do not exist in the English language and thus accentuation is probably one of the most difficult things about learning Spanish, especially for native speakers. Natives have more experience speaking than reading and writing and thus typically struggle with accenting words correctly. Here are the rules for correctly accenting words. You will be able to correctly pronounce ANY word in Spanish once you learn these rules.

First of all, you must know there are 4 types of words in Spanish. You can fit every single word into one of these 4 categories. The names of each type are bolded and follow with the corresponding rules for each.

Quick review...
Vowels = a, e, i, o, u
Consonants = all other letters of the alphabet

1. Llanas or Graves - you may use whichever term you prefer
This is by far the biggest group of words of the Spanish language
The words are pronounced with the stress on the 2nd to last syllable
They end in vowels or the letters N or S
Examples: casa, joven,

Llanas possess a written accent mark if last letter is a consonant, excluding N or S
Examples: ángel, lápiz

2. Agudas
The words are pronounced with the stress on the last syllable
They end in consonants, excluding N or S
Examples: papel, ciudad, hablar (all other unconjugated verbs)

Agudas possess a written accent mark if the last letter is a vowel or N or S
Examples: está, acentuación, francés

3. Esdrújulas
Always have a written accent mark on the 3rd to last syllable
Examples: jóvenes, esdrújula

4. Sobresdrújulas
Always have a written accent mark on the 4th to last (or more) syllable
Example: mándamelo, fácilmente

For a quick review, watch this video. See if you can tell which type of words they are talking about.

Ok, now it's time to practice. See if you can tell me if the following words are llanas, agudas, esdrújulas, or sobresdrújulas and the reason why. We'll do number 1 together. Click on "comments" for the answers after you have finished.

1. Aseguró - aguda because the last syllable is stressed and because it ends in a vowel, there is a written accent mark
2. Caridad
3. Aéreo
4. Exponiéndose
5. Oficina
6. Esperanza
7. Buzón
8. Mándamelo
9. Ladrones
10. Hombre
11. Riéndose
12. Corral

La corrida de toros

Bullfighting has been and will continue to be a hot topic among all peoples. Bullfighting is a long-standing tradition and considered a "sport" in many Latin American countries and Spain. The viewers are not necessarily concerned with the killing of the bull, but instead how the matador develops the relationship between himself and the bull as well as his skill and art to kill it quickly and efficiently.

A typcial bullfighting ring in Spain. All rings are circular.

The arte of bullfighting is called “tauromaquia”, which comes from the Greek word “tauros” = bull and “mákhomai” = to fight. A bullfight develops through many different stages as shown below. Important vocabulary is highlighted in red.

First, all of the bullfighters walk in to the ring in the paseíllo while the band plays the pasadoble. The picador, bullfighter atop a horse, who tries to drive banderillas into the back of the bull. The banderillas serve a purpose. They are stuck into the bull's spine to separate it and make a pathway to the heart. This allows the matador to easily place his sword into the correct spot (right into the heart) so the bull dies instantly instead of suffering a slow, painful death. After the picador, the banderilleros, bullfighters on foot, also thrust more banderillas into the bull's spine. The torero then offers the bull to the crowd. He uses his pink and yellow cape to slow the bull down. It is also a show of art in the way he moves the cape and escapes the bull's horns. It is now the matador's turn to use his muleta (a larger cape) and show his skill, after which he kills the bull by driving his sword into the bull's back. The is the climax of the bullfight, know as the descabello. A team of mulillas (mules) then drag the bull out of the arena. Typically before dragging the bull out, the toreros give the matador a trophy for his bravery. If the matador receives one ear of the bull, his performance was alright. If he receives both ears, he did very well. If he receives both ear and the tail, he demonstrated a great deal of bravery and skill.

The heated debate begins when the matador does not kill on the first try, which happens often. Either he does not stick the sword into the right spot or he waits too long and the bull is suffering. Spaniards are divided on the subject. Some of them are big bullfighting fans while others think it's animal cruelty. The tradition has been around for hundreds of years so it is hard to just one day do away with it. However, in the northern region of Spain, around Barcelona, they have recently banned the sport. Read this article for more information regarding the subject. This is significant as it is the first region in mainland Spain to ban bullfighting. By banning bullfighting, many people will lose their livelihood such as the bullfighters themselves, the trainers and teachers, people who take care of the bulls, etc.

Opinions from Spanish Natives

Luis-

"Yo, como nativo, estoy en contra de las corridas de toros. No me gustan los toros porque es un lobby muy potente en España, y especialmente, porque se hace sufrir al animal. Por otro lado, aunque no me gustan las corridas de toros considero que es una idea "romántica", una bonita lucha a muerte entre un hombre y un animal bravo. Es una pelea para medir las fuerzas entre ambos...

Tal vez, sería mucho más interesante si no se matase al animal, aunque también hay que entender que la carne de toro se utiliza para hacer platos gastronómicos aquí, por lo que esto podría justificar la tradición de matarlos.

CONCLUSIÓN: Estoy en contra de los Toros, pero no soy un activista ya que considero que es una tradición española (como la semana santa por ejemplo), y simboliza una lucha entre un hombre y un toro por la vida. Como decimos en España, "lo respeto, pero no lo comparto".

Recuérdales que en tu país tenéis la pena de muerte, lo cual es mucho más salvaje!!!"

Myriam-

"Estoy a favor por supuesto!! Son tradiciones de España de hace muchísimos años. Además quiero decirles a los estudiantes de este debate; Cuando van hacer un debate sobre las gallinas, vacas y peces que nos comemos?

Mientras se mata a un solo Toro, cuantos miles de vacas y gallinas se matan ??? Si vamos a defender los animales lo haremos con igualdad....O existen los animales de segunda o tercera categoría??

En España existen unos 100 matadores de Toros... ¿cuántos miles matadores de otros animales existen??"

Ernest Hemingway, an American author, tried to capture the literary aspect of bullfighting through his book, "The Sun Also Rises."


Now that you have learned more about the corrida de toros, what do YOU think? Are you in favor or against?