There are two irregular verbs, Ser and Estar, that mean ‘to be’ in the Spanish language. This is a bit confusing and thus, a tricky part of acquiring this beautiful idiom.
In this article, you will learn to understand the basic rules and memorize the verb conjugation for each tense.
Verbs are used to describe actions. The ser vs estar debate spins heads because both verbs mean to be. But they’re used in different situations and sound totally different.
The verb Ser could be in most instances related with the verb Existir (to exist); that is, to refer to the existence and characteristics of a thing, person, animal or place.
In contrast, the verb Estar is used to express a certain state of the subject. Estar is to be in a place, situation, condition or state of mind.
In the table below, you will be able to appreciate how the verbs change according to the pronoun and the tense.
SIMPLE INDICATIVE ‘SER’ | |||||
PRONOUN | PRESENT | IMPERFECT | PRETERITE | FUTURE | CONDITIONAL |
Yo | Soy | Era | Fui | Seré | Sería |
Tú | Eres | Eras | Fuiste | Serás | Serías |
Usted | Es | Era | Fue | Será | Sería |
Él | Es | Era | Fue | Será | Sería |
Ella | Es | Era | Fue | Será | Sería |
Nosotros | Somos | Éramos | Fuimos | Seremos | Seríamos |
Ustedes | Son | Eran | Fueron | Serán | Serían |
Vosotros | Sois | Erais | Fuisteis | Seréis | Seríais |
SIMPLE INDICATIVE ‘ESTAR’ | |||||
PRONOUN | PRESENT | IMPERFECT | PRETERITE | FUTURE | CONDITIONAL |
Yo | Estoy | Estaba | Estuve | Estaré | Estaría |
Tú | Estás | Estabas | Estuviste | Estarás | Estarías |
Usted | Está | Estaba | Estuvo | Estará | Estaría |
Él | Está | Estaba | Estuvo | Estará | Estaría |
Ella | Está | Estaba | Estuvo | Estará | Estaría |
Nosotros | Estamos | Estábamos | Estuvimos | Estaremos | Estaríamos |
Ustedes | Están | Estaban | Estuvieron | Estarán | Estarían |
Vosotros | Estáis | Estabais | Estuvisteis | Estaréis | Estaríais |
Observe how the verb Ser is used in the following scenarios:
To learn how to conjugate the verb Ser, memorize the following things:
The following table provides an example with the pronoun Yo (I).
INDICATIVE | ||||
SIMPLE INDICATIVE | ||||
PRESENT | IMPERFECT | PRETERITE | FUTURE | CONDITIONAL SIMPLE |
Soy | Era | Fui | Seré | Sería |
PERFECT INDICATIVE | ||||
PRESENT PERFECT | PAST PERFECT | PAST ANTERIOR | FUTURE PERFECT | CONDITIONAL PERFECT |
He sido | Había sido | Hube sido | Habré sido | Habría sido |
SUBJUNCTIVE | ||||
SIMPLE SUBJUNCTIVE | ||||
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE | IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | FUTURE SUBJUNCTIVE | ||
Sea | Fuera/Fuese | Fuere | ||
PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | ||||
PRESENT PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | FUTURE PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | ||
Haya sido | Hubiera sido/Hubiese sido | Hubiere sido | ||
IMPERATIVE | ||||
Sé/sed | ||||
NONFINITE VERB FORMS | ||||
INFINITIVE | PARTICIPLE | GERUNDE | ||
SIMPLE | PERFECT | Sido | SIMPLE | PERFECT |
Ser | Haber sido | Siendo | Habiendo siendo |
Observe how the verb Estar is used in the following scenarios:
To learn how to conjugate the verb Estar, memorize the following things:
The following table provides an example with the pronoun Yo (I).
INDICATIVE | ||||
SIMPLE INDICATIVE | ||||
PRESENT | IMPERFECT | PRETERITE | FUTURE | CONDITIONAL SIMPLE |
Estoy | Estaba | Estuve | Estaré | Estaría |
PERFECT INDICATIVE | ||||
PRESENT PERFECT | PAST PERFECT | PAST ANTERIOR | FUTURE PERFECT | CONDITIONAL PERFECT |
He estado | Había estado | Hube estado | Habré estado | Habría estado |
SUBJUNCTIVE | ||||
SIMPLE SUBJUNCTIVE | ||||
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE | IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | FUTURE SUBJUNCTIVE | ||
Esté | Estuviera/Estuviese | Estuviere | ||
PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | ||||
PRESENT PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | FUTURE PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE | ||
Haya estado | Hubiera/Hubiese estado | Hubiere estado | ||
IMPERATIVE | ||||
Está/Estad | ||||
NONFINITE VERB FORMS | ||||
INFINITIVE | PARTICIPLE | GERUNDE | ||
SIMPLE | PERFECT | Estado | SIMPLE | PERFECT |
Estar | Haber estado | Estando | Habiendo estado |
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