The Spanish verbs “ser” and “estar” both mean “to be” in English. However, the choice of which verb you use depends on what you are trying to express—so don’t guess!
Both “ser” and “estar” can form verb phrases when combined with an adjective. As a result, you can get two similar, but distinct meanings, even when the same adjective follows the verb.
In the following examples, you will see that verb expressions using “ser” express something about your personality, whereas verb expressions using “estar” express a temporary mood.
Let’s take a look.
SER or ESTAR + DELICADO
Ser delicado means “to be sensitive/tricky/delicate”. You can use this to describe someone’s personality and to describe fragile objects.
“La escultura de cristal es delicada. Si la muevo, se puede romper”
On the other hand, estar delicado means “to be ill”; it’s a euphemism.
“Mi abuela está un poco delicada. Lleva una semana en el hospital”
SER or ESTAR + DESPISTADO
Ser despistado means “to be absent-minded/clueless/scatter-brained”.
“Tenemos una reunión en dos horas. Se lo voy a recordar a Jorge porque es un poco despistado”
But if you want to express the fact that you or someone else is lost or confused, then you would say estar despistado.
“La niña se perdió por el bosque porque estaba despistada”
SER or ESTAR + ORGULLOSO
Ser orgulloso means “to be proud/prideful/arrogant”. Again, this is a direct reflection of yours or someone else’s personality.
“Después de la discusión, no ha comentado nada más. Es muy orgullosa!”
Estar orgulloso means “to be proud of”. If you have some kind of achievement that you are proud of, use estar instead.
“Después de tanto esfuerzo académico y profesional, estaba orgulloso de sus logros”
SER or ESTAR + ATENTO
When you use ser atento, this means “to be helpful/thoughtful”.
“La recepcionista es muy atenta, siempre me abre la puerta de la entrada”
Estar atento is different, however: it means “to pay attention”.
“Los estudiantes estuvieron atentos a la clase de matemáticas”
SER or ESTAR + DESPIERTO
Ser despierto means “to be smart/intelligent/quick”. This phrase reflects an intelligent personality.
“Por su tipo de sentido del humor parece que es una persona muy despierta”
However, estar despierto means “to be awake” in the sense of physically having your eyes open.
“Estoy despierta desde las seis de la mañana”
SER or ESTAR + ABIERTO/CERRADO
In Spanish these expressions have two different meanings: ser abierto means “to be open-minded”, and ser cerrado means “to be close-minded or narrow-minded”.
These phrases can also mean “to be extroverted” (ser abierto) and “to be introverted” (ser cerrado).
Meanwhile, estar abierto o cerrado means “to be open/closed” for things, like a shop. When you use it for people, it can be translated as “to be ready/available” for something.
“A las 8, cuando pasé por el supermercado estaba abierto, pero media hora más tarde, ya estaba cerrado”
“Laura estaba abierta a hacer deportes de riesgo, pero se rompió la pierna y no pudo”
SER or ESTAR + LISTO
Ser listo means “to be smart”, so it has a similar meaning to ser despierto.
When you use estar listo, this means “to be ready” for something.
“Estoy lista para salir de casa”
SER or ESTAR ABURRIDO
And, if you find something boring, you must use ser aburrido, which means “to be boring”.
“Esta novela es muy aburrida. La voy a abandonar”
Estar aburrido means “to be bored”.
“Estoy aburrida, la novela no me motiva”
As you can see, Spanish differs from English in that it has two words for the verb “to be”. You must know which verb, ser or estar applies depending on whether you’re describing a personality or a temporary mood to avoid misunderstandings. Make sure you learn the verbs on this list for reference!
Recent Comments