Intermediate Spanish Review Lesson 10 The differences between Ser and Estar

Intermediate Spanish Review Lesson 10 The differences between Ser and Estar Posted by Laura & Adam on Nov 6, 2013 in Learning, Spanish Grammar, Spanish Vocabulary, Videos

¡Hola a todos!

Hoy vamos a practicar cuándo usar el verbo ser y cuándo usar el verbo estar. Today we are going to practice when to use Ser or Estar. These are two of the most fundamental Spanish verbs and sometimes it can be very tricky to know whether to use one or the other.

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:

Intermediate theory video lesson 10

1. First please translate the following sentences from English to Spanish paying particular attention to your translation of “is” or “are”:

How much are the apples today?
They are three euros a kilo.
The jacket is made of leather.
Pedro is a doctor.
Marta is reading a book.
How much is it? It´s 15 dollars.
It is bad to drink too much alcohol.
Javier is in Barcelona.

2. Now I will say some sentences in Spanish. I will say each sentence in two different ways – one using Ser and one using Estar – but only one will be correct. I would like you to tell me which sentence is the correct one:

Verónica es baja y rubia / Verónica está baja y rubia.
Hoy es a 18 de septiembre / Hoy estamos a 18 de septiembre.
Alfredo es de cajero en ese supermercado / Alfredo está de cajero en ese supermercado.
Sonia es argentina / Sonia está argentina.
Son las tres y media / Están las tres y media.
El café es caliente / El café está caliente.
¿A cuánto son hoy los plátanos? / ¿A cuánto están hoy los plátanos?
Esta camiseta es de algodón / Esta camisea está de algodón.

3. Finally, I will say some single sentences in Spanish using the verbs Ser or Estar. Please tell me if the sentences are correct or incorrect:

Hoy está jueves.
María está muy enfadada.
La fiesta es en casa de Ana.
Estoy de Madrid.
El libro es encima de la mesa.
Mi casa está pequeña.
Los ejercicios son mal.
Sara está de camarera en ese restaurante.
¿De dónde eres?
Vamos a casa que está de noche.

Bueno, esto es todo por hoy.

When to use Ser or Estar is one of the hardest things to perfect in Spanish, so be patient with it. You need to know the rules, but it will almost certainly take you some time to master their use. As always, the more you practice, the better you will get.

Hasta pronto con más prácticas de español. ¡Adiós!

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.
¿A cuánto están las manzanas hoy?
Están a tres euros el kilo.
La chaqueta es de piel.
Pedro es medico.
Marta está leyendo un libro.
¿Cuánto es? Son quince dólares.
Es malo beber demasiado alcohol.
Javier está en Barcelona.

2.
Verónica es baja y rubia.
Hoy estamos a 18 de septiembre.
Alfredo está de cajero en ese supermercado.
Sonia es argentina.
Son las tres y media.
El café está caliente.
¿A cuánto están hoy los plátanos?
Esta camiseta es de algodón.

3.
Hoy está jueves. INCORRECT
María está muy enfadada. CORRECT
La fiesta es en casa de Ana. CORRECT
Estoy de Madrid. CORRECT
El libro es encima de la mesa. INCORRECT
Mi casa está pequeña. INCORRECT
Los ejercicios son mal. INCORRECT
Sara está de camarera en ese restaurante. CORRECT
¿De dónde eres? CORRECT
Vamos a casa que está de noche. INCORRECT

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About the Author: Laura & Adam

Laura & Adam have been blogging and creating online Spanish courses for Transparent Language since 2010. Laura is from Bilbao in northern Spain and Adam is from Devon in the south of England. They lived together in Spain for over 10 years, where their 2 daughters were born, and now they live in Scotland. Both Laura & Adam qualified as foreign language teachers in 2004 and since have been teaching Spanish in Spain, the UK, and online.

Comments:

Ken:

Greetings:

I am more familiar with the saying Soy de Madrid…I am from Madrid, so I marked Estoy de Madrid as wrong.

Are both correct, but mean different things?

Soy de Madrid (I was born there, and this is never going to change, so I use ser)

Estoy de Madrid (I am from Madrid now, having moved there some time ago.)

Later on the person moves to Seville…can he say “Estoy de Seville” at that point?

I thought the saying for where you are currently living is: “Vivo en Madrid” and not “Estoy de Madrid”
Beverlee:

It would have been helpful to have the rules stated first. I am still not sure what they are.
- Laura:
  
  @Beverlee Hola Beverlee, please follow the link in this post “To go back and watch the original video lesson”, there you will find all the rules explained in detail, saludos, Laura
Ceci LaDuca:

I don’t understand why the ones I got wrong are wrong. For instance: Estoy de Madrid. I thought it was soy because it’s a point of origin. But I guess it’s estoy because it’s a location? Very confusing at times!
- Laura:
  
  @Ceci LaDuca Hola Ceci,
  
  Thanks for your comment! Ser and Estar are tricky. Let me try to explain…
  
  Verbo estar: location (permanent and non permanent)
  
  Examples:
  Permanent location: Madrid está en España (Madrid is in Spain).
  Non permanent location: Mi hermano está en Espana (My bother is in Spain).
  
  Exceptions: Locations of events use verbo ser.
  
  Examples with verbo ser:
  
  El concierto es en la Plaza Mayor (The concert is in Mayor Square).
  La reunión es en mi oficina (The meeting is in my office).
  
  I hope that sheds some light. Please let me know,
  Laura

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