Ser vs Estar: Characteristic or State

This is one of the most important lessons in the course. Spanish has two verbs for "to be":

Estar = the state you're in. Think "STATE" — they're practically the same word. Being tired, being at a location, feeling happy — these are states.

Ser = characteristics and identity. Think "BEING" — un ser humano = a human being. Un ser = a being. Your profession, personality, where you're from — these are characteristics.

DON'T simplify this to "temporary vs permanent." That's the most common mistake learners and even teachers make, and it will fail you. Being a student is temporary, but it's a characteristic of you (use ser). Being tired is a state (use estar), even if you're tired every single day.

The word "state" is basically the same word as estar. In fact, Spanish adds an e- before words starting with st-/sp-: state→estar, Spanish→Español, student→estudiante, school→escuela, special→especial, strict→estricto, spectacular→espectacular.

Estar is the ONLY verb in the entire Spanish language that doesn't have the accent on the penultimate syllable in the present tense. The accent goes on the END: estoy, está, están, estás, estamos.

Estar forms

New vocabulary

Sentences practiced