Hola ¿Cómo estáis?

Today we are going to practice using some Spanish adjectives which mean completely different things depending on whether they are used with the fundamental Spanish verbs Ser or Estar.

Answers to all tasks involved in this lesson will be given at the end of the post and you can also follow a link with this post to watch the original theory video lesson on the same topic.

To go back and watch the original video lesson please follow this link:

Practice using Spanish adjectives with Ser and Estar

1. Let´s see first if you know what these Spanish phrases using Ser and Estar mean:

Ser verde
Estar verde
Ser abierto
Estar abierto
Ser listo
Estar listo
Ser rico
Estar rico
Ser negro
Estar negro

2. Now from English to Spanish. Think carefully if you should use Ser or Estar:

To be open
To be intelligent or clever
To be closed
To be tasty (food) / to be attractive (people/colloquial)
To be introverted
To be good (quality of objects/personality of people)
To be extroverted and sociable
To be ready
To be rich (people)
To be simple/clear

3. Do you understand these sentences in Spanish?

Estoy lista para ir al cine.
Esta película es muy mala.
No puedo ir a trabajar porque estoy malo.
La paella está muy buena
Antonio es un chico muy abierto.

4. Now I will say the same sentence twice – one time with Ser and one with Estar – and I would like you to tell me which option is correct:

Esta comida es muy rica / Esta comida está muy rica
La ventana es abierta / La ventana está abierta
Esta manzana es mala / Esta manzana está mala
Carlos es cerrado / Carlos está cerrado
La camiseta es verde / La camiseta está verde

5. Finally, please translate the following sentences from English to Spanish:

My sister is very extroverted.
Everything is clear.
These tomatoes are unripe.
Carmen is very angry.
Ana is very clever.

Esto es todo por hoy.

Understanding perfectly and choosing when to use Ser or Estar with adjectives is always tricky, especially when both Ser and Estar can accompany a particular adjective and change its meaning completely as we have seen in this lesson. If you cannot remember well which verb to use in each case, I recommend that you go back and watch the original video lesson on this topic until you are more confident.

Have a great week!

¡Hasta luego!

I hope you are enjoying my weekly interactive Spanish lessons. Follow this link for many more great resources to help you learn and practice Spanish.

Answers:

1.
Ser verde: To be green (colour)
Estar verde: To be unripe (food) / to be new to a situation (people)
Ser abierto: To be extroverted and sociable
Estar abierto: To be open
Ser listo: To be intelligent or clever
Estar listo: To be ready
Ser rico: To be rich (people)
Estar rico: To be tasty
Ser negro: To be black (colour)
Estar negro: To be tanned / to be angry or fed up / to be dirty (for objects)

2.
Estar abierto
Ser listo
Estar cerrado
Estar bueno
Ser cerrado
Ser bueno
Ser abierto
Estar listo
Ser rico
Estar claro

3.
I am ready to go to the cinema.
This film is very bad.
I cannot go to work because I am ill.
Paella is very good.
Antonio is a very extroverted boy.

4.
Esta comida está muy rica
La ventana está abierta
Esta manzana está mala
Carlos es cerrado
La camiseta es verde

5.
Mi hermana es muy extrovertida.
Todo está claro.
Estos tomates están verdes.
Carmen está negra.
Ana es muy lista.