Spanish Subject pronouns and the verb SER

1. Using Subject Pronouns
with SER
SER is a VERB that means TO BE

2. Singular
Yo: I
Tú: You
Usted: You (formal)
Él: He
Ella: She
Plural
Nosotros: We (at least one boy)
Nosotras: We (all girls)
Vosotros: You all (at least one boy)
Vosotras: You all (all girls)
Ustedes: You all (formal)
Ellos: They (at least one boy)
Ellas: They (all girls)
Remember
these?
In Spain

3. To form sentences in Spanish:
Start with a subject PRONOUN (or Noun)
Add the VERB
Add adjectives, nouns, prepositional phrases, etc.
Subject + verb + (adjectives, nouns, etc.)
Yo + soy + de Durham.
SOY is a form of the verb SER
Slow down Sra. Anderson….
What does all of this mean?

4. First, copy these definitions:
Verb- a word that shows action OR links ideas
together in a sentence
Conjugate – to make a VERB agree with the
subject of the sentence (example: I am, you are,
he is…)
Infinitive- the UNCONJUGATED form of the
verb. In English, TO + verb (ex. to be, to run, to
sing). In Spanish, all unconjugated verbs end
with –AR, -ER, or –IR.

5. SER is a linking verb
that means TO BE
To use SER in a sentence, you must CONJUGATE it to
match the subject noun/pronoun.
Ex. You shouldn’t say: You should say:
 “I be from Durham.”  “I am from Durham.”
“We be the students.”  “We are the students.”
“The teacher be short.”  “The teacher is short.”
That’s what conjugating is all about!

6. Ser = to be
COPY THIS CHART!
Yo soy = I am
Tú eres = you are
Usted es = you are
Él es = he is
Ella es = she is
Nosotros(as) somos = we are
Vosotros(as) sois = y’all are
Ustedes son = you all are
Ellos son = they are
Ellas son = they are
Note: SER is an –ER verb, but it has an irregular conjugation!
Also, in English we have 3 forms for this verb: am, is, are, but
Spanish has 6 forms: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son

7. So, how do I know which
“form” of SER to use?
Look at the subject of your sentence.
If it is one of the pronouns from the chart, then use that
“form” of SER.
Nosotros _______ de España.
Since NOSOTROS is on the chart, use the form SOMOS
Nosotros SOMOS de España. (We are from Spain.)
If the subject is a noun (such as PACO), change the noun to
a pronoun to find the correct “form” of SER.
Paco = Él  So look for Él on the chart and use that form.
Paco ES mi amigo. (Paco is my friend.)

8. When should I use the verb
SER?
SER is used in the following situations:
•Origin: Soy de Durham.
•Descriptions and Characteristics: Soy baja.
•Possession: Es mi libro.
•Time and Date: Son las ocho. Es el 7 de mayo.
•Identification: Rosa es mi amiga. Es una pluma.
•Professions: La Srta. Farlow es una maestra.
•Nationality: Paco es mexicano.

9. 1. Yo soy de Cuba.
2. Tú eres un muchacho.
3. Anita es muy bonita.
4. Nosotros somos estudiantes.
5. Vosotras sois maestras de español.
6. Luis y Juan son colombianos.
More
Examples

10. 1. Yo ___ de los Estados Unidos.
2. Miguel y Juan ____ hermanos.
3. Nosotros _______ estudiosos.
4. Vosotros ____ de Costa Rica.
5. Rafael ___ muy atlético.
*Number your
paper 1-5 and
write the correct
form of SER to
complete each
sentence.

11. soy
1. Yo ___ de los Estados Unidos.
2. Miguel y Juan ____ son
hermanos.
3. Nosotros _______ estudiosos.
4. Vosotros ____ de Costa Rica.
5. Rafael ___ muy atlético.
somos
sois
es Check your
answers.
Ask for help if you
don’t understand.

12. 6. Ana ___ una estudiante buena.
7. Ustedes____ de Colombia.
8. Tú y yo ________ amigos buenos.
9. Tus amigas ____ simpáticas.
10. Ella ___ de El Salvador.
*Number your
paper 6-10 and
write the correct
form of SER to
complete each
sentence.

13. es
1. Ana ___ una estudiante buena.
2. Ustedes____ son
de Colombia.
3. Tú y yo ________ somos
amigos buenos.
4. Tus amigas ____ son
simpáticas.
5. Ella ___ es
de El Salvador.
Check your
answers.
Ask for help if you
don’t understand.

14. Wait, what about NOT to be?
To make a sentence negative in Spanish, just put the
word NO in front of the verb.
For example, I am not tall. = Yo no soy alta.
 NO soy = I am not
SOY is the
verb, so we put
The girl is not from Perú. =
NO before it!
La muchacha no es de Perú.
ES is the verb,
so we put NO
before it!

15. ¡Adiós!