Ser vs. Estar

Soy profesor. Estoy tranquilo

As you already know, the verb estar means “to be situated”, and is used to indicate the place where an object is.

Estar has yet another important use case. It can mean a state, either physical or mental, in which an object or a person is found at a certain moment.

La sopa está fría — The soup is cold

El suelo está limpio — The floor is clean

Estoy alegre — I’m happy (cheerful)

This happens exclusively when there is an adjective after estar.

estar + adjective = physical state or state of mind

Ser is for characteristics. Use it to describe colors, dimensions, quality, origin, profession.

Soy joven – I’m young

Eres español – you are Spanish

Estar is for locations or states.

Estoy en casa – I’m at home

Estoy nervioso – I’m nervous

Compare these sentences:

El café es caro — The cafe is expensive (quality, characteristic)

El café está caliente — The cafe is hot (state)

El coche es nuevo — The car is new (quality)

El coche está sucio — The car is dirty (state)

Soy alto — I’m tall (quality)

Estoy feliz — I’m happy (state)

To choose between ser and estar you should clearly understand what a state is.

A state is usually something binary, which can change: cold – hot, open – closed, clean – dirty, happy – unhappy, relaxed – nervous.

Now you can understand why estar is used, when we say “How are you?”

¿Cómo estás?

Estoy bien

This literally means:

What state are you in?

I’m in a good state

These are some examples of adjectives that can determine a state:

frío (cold) — caliente (hot)

alegre (cheerful) — triste (sad, upset)

limpio (clean) — sucio (dirty)

sano (healthy) — enfermo (ill)

tranquilo (calm, relaxed) — nervioso (nervous)

seguro (sure)

feliz (happy)

contento (glad)

lleno (full) — vacío (empty)

libre (free) – ocupado (occupied, busy)

loco (crazy)

aburrido (bored)

Try it yourself:

I’m glad

We are relaxed

The street is dirty

The children aren’t in class, because they are ill

We are happy, because we are friends

They are upset, because the fridge is empty

Johnny, the people are very crazy

Many of these adjectives can actually mean not only a state, but also quality.

La música es alegre – The music is cheerful

Mi profesor is tranquilo – My teacher is calm (as a person)

Participio

There is a part of speech, which is called participle. It’s just an adjective produced from a verb: prepared, closed, tired, built, written.

Spanish participles usually end with -ado or -ido.

preparado – prepared

cansado – tired

ocupado – occupied

cerrado – closed

construido – built

dormido – sleepy

Some participles have their own forms:

abierto – open

cubierto – covered

escrito – written

hecho – done, made

roto – broken

When we start learning Spanish verbs, you’ll find many more participles. By now, learn these ones simply as new vocabulary.

The most important rule about participles is that they always mean a state. So, they should be always used with estar.

María está cansada – Maria is tired

¿Estás preparado? – Are you ready?

Las ventanas están cerradas – The windows are shut

Las tiendas están abiertas – The shops are open

Try it yourself:

Are you tired?

I’m busy today

What is written here?

Is the table occupied?

No, it’s available (free)

The doors in the house are open

ser, estar, hay

Knowing these three basic verbs is essential for describing objects and people in Spanish. Using them you can describe your home, a hotel and even your neighbourhood.

Though, these verbs can produce much confusion at the first stages of learning Spanish. You just have to spend more time trying to put them into practice.

Let’s do a little recap.

ser – describes characteristics and quality

estar – determines location or a state

hay – shows that something exists somewhere, indicates quantity

Try it yourself:

My friend is French

There is one table and two chairs in the room

Manolo is in Argentina

Manolo is from Argentina

We are happy (cheerful)

What is there under the tree?

The car is behind the garage

We are brothers

We are fine