I am a native Spanish speaker, and a teacher of English. But I am trying to help a friend who is learning Spanish on his own. He struggles when it comes to use "be" in Spanish. I can give him many explanations, but I think it would only confuse him more. A native English speaker who teaches Spanish would probably give a brief, concise answer, which is what he needs.
2006-09-30 05:18:42 · 9 answers · asked by mariposa 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Teaching
That's a tough one! I'm also a native Spanish speaker and I imagine that the usage of these words poses the same kind of difficulty for English speakers that "do" and "make" represent for us.
I think we use "ser" for those characteristics that define a person /object permanently:
"Soy argentina"
"Soy de Boca" (I'm not, actually!)
"Soy impaciente"
whereas "estar" is used for transient states or qualifiers:
"Estoy cansada"
"Los ladrones estaban arrepentidos"
"La casa está sucia"
Tell your friend to note the difference between:
"El perro es nervioso" (permanent character)
and
"El perro está nervioso"
Estar is also the verb to use with circumstantials (of place, time, etc):
"Están en el parque"
"Estaremos con mis amigos"
while "ser" is the auxiliary for passive voice:
"Martín fue atacado por un perro"
Here's a couple of webpages with lessons on usage of these verbs:
http://www.auladiez.com/ejercicios/23_verbos_estar_ser.php
http://www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/gramguid.htm (this one has a table with usage definitions)
Hope this helps!
PS I'm also curious about the explanation that a native English speaker would give, so I'll check back :-)
2006-09-30 05:41:49 · answer #1 · answered by Calimecita 7 · 12⤊ 0⤋
Differences Between Ser And Estar
2016-10-01 21:33:38 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ser And Estar Differences
2016-12-11 19:17:35 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ser is used for:
1. origin
2. physical traits
3. fairly permanent things
Estar is used for:
1. location
2. emotions
3. state of being
4. fairly changeable things
Learning the difference between these two is something that is late acquired (meaning it takes a while for it to really sink in). Mostly, it should be taught as what sounds right. If the person hears enough repetitions of its use, it will come naturally because that is what will sound right to them.
2006-09-30 05:51:47 · answer #4 · answered by Chalkbrd 5 · 7⤊ 0⤋
This is likely one of the most difficult concepts for an English speaking student to wrap his mind around, as there simply aren't any equivalents in English.
The easiest way around this one is to provide him with lots of examples. He's going to begin by guessing, but once you correct him, and give him examples (no explanations -- just lots of examples) he's going to gradually intuit the pattern.
This is the way we learn to speak as children, by guessing, making mistakes and hearing correct examples. Eventually, we put it all together. At least, some of us do. And that's what your friend is going to have to do with those pesky Spanish verbs, 'ser' and 'estar'.
2006-09-30 08:23:56 · answer #5 · answered by old lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Learning forgiven languages is often a very good point in life. If you believed in commence studying some new language why don’t you start off with something effortless like Spanish, simple if you learn it right here https://tr.im/q1VmL with Rocket Languages, an effortless course with a lot of functions that make this method of finding out even significantly simpler.
Rocket Languages it is a recognized leader in on the internet language understanding. With Rocket Language course you will have characteristics like: voice recognition, testing, games, in-created flashcard app and a intriguing design.
Rocket Languages is the greatest choice to understand Spanish language.
2016-06-02 05:19:59 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In Spanish, a different verb is used to express "to be" depending on whether the speaker intends to address a condition or an essential quality.
La manzana está verde. (estar)
The apple is green. (condition)
La manzana es verde. (ser)
The apple is green. (essence)
Or 'Soy Maria. Estoy en el laboratorio' I am Maria. I am in the laboratory.
2006-09-30 05:33:02 · answer #7 · answered by eilishaa 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
i think ser is more so a permanent state of being
while estar is more short term and in the now
dont know if that helps but it is hard to explain
2006-09-30 05:28:03 · answer #8 · answered by chuy85 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
May be giving many exemples, such as :" yo estoy en el jardin", which means "I`m in the garden" , and then : "yo soy el profesor" or "yo soy Mike" which means "I`m the teacher" or "I`m Mike", but sometimes I`ve heard the same mistake tallking and it isn`t dificult to anderstand in spanish. Maybe using songs is an easy way to make it better. Usually we sing different songs and it results much better. Good luck!
2006-09-30 05:34:52 · answer #9 · answered by dinamite 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ser = who you are
Estar = how you feel, where you are
Soy norteamericana
Estoy muy bien en los Estados Unidos.
2006-09-30 05:37:01 · answer #10 · answered by dotell 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋