Spanish has two verbs that translate to "to be" in English: ser and estar. Ser is used to express permanent characteristics like nationality or profession, while estar expresses temporary states like location or health. Both verbs are irregular in the present tense, with ser conjugated as soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son and estar as estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están. Knowing when to use ser versus estar is important for correctly communicating in Spanish.

1. SER y ESTAR (to be)

2. SER Y ESTAR Spanish has two verbs which are equivalent in meaning to the verb ‘to be’ in English. These verbs are ser and estar . These two verbs are irregular in the present tense. Although they mean they have the same meaning, it is important that you know and understand when to use them. Both verbs are conjugated as follows in the present tense: SER ESTAR soy estoy eres est ás es est á somos estamos son est án

3. USES OF THE VERB SER The verb ‘ser’ is used to express: SER (to be) nationality personality ownership Physical and moral attributes origin Time, dates, week days religion age colour profession

4. USES OF THE VERB SER The verb ser is used to express/tell: Relationship places where events is take place marital status materials from which something is made the shape of an object the shape of an object size of something impersonal expression SER (to be)

5. USES OF THE VERB ESTAR The verb ‘estar’ is used to express: ESTAR (to be) phases of health weather condition Temporary state of being permanent or temporary location/position of people and things

6. USES OF THE VERB ESTAR The verb ‘estar’ is used to express: the progressive tense weather results of an action Transitory, unusual and recently changed conditions ESTAR (to be)