Ser vs. Estar: Round 2

 Ser vs. Estar 

Last week, we talked about the main difference between ser and estar: ser normally refers to essential and permanent qualities while estar refers to a more temporary and current condition.  However, there is a little more to it than just that when using these verbs.  Here are some more rules regarding the usage of ser and estar...

1. For geographical or physical locations, use estar...

• Yo estoy en mi casa... ¿dónde estás tú? (I'm at my house.. where are you?)
  
• No sé dónde está mi carro... lo dejé aquí. (I don't know where my car is.. I left it here)
  
• Tulsa está en Oklahoma. (Tulsa is in Oklahoma.)
  
• Mis llaves no están en la mesa ni en mi cuarto. (My keys are not on the table nor in my room.)

2. If the location refers to an EVENT that is taking place, use ser...

• La fiesta es en la casa de Juan. (The party is at Juan's house.)
  
• La reunion es en la oficina de Melissa. (The meeting is in Melissa's office.)
  

3. Estar is used in many idomatic expressions... 

(see my previous blog called ESTAR:  IDOMATIC EXPRESSIONS) Examples from that blog are....

• To be in a good mood - estar de buen humor
• To be in a bad mood - estar de mal humor
• to be in agreement with - estar de acuerdo con
• to feel like - estar con ganas de 
• to be running behind - estar atrasado/a
• to be fed up with - estar harto/a

4. To expression a condition (how some one or something is doing), use estar... 

• ¿Cómo está la sopa? (How's the soup?)
  
• Miguel está muy bien pero cansado. (Miguel is very well but tired.)
  
• No sé cómo están mis niños. (I don't know how my kids are.)
  

5. To expression a progressive situation, use estar..

• ¿No estoy haciendo nada. (I'm not doing anything.)
  
• ¿Qué estás jugando?  Fútbol? (What are you playing? Soccer?)
  
• Ella está corriendo un maratón. (She is running a marathon.)
  
• El tren está moviendo muy despacio. (The train is moving very slowly.)
  

6. When the verb is followed by a noun, use ser....

• Yo soy médico. (I'm a doctor.)
  
• Felipe es un actor. (Phillip is an actor.)
  
• Creo que es un caballo. (I think it's a horse.)
  
• Nosotros no somos esclavos. (We are not slaves.)

So, here's a quick review of today's lesson...

For the following situations....

• Geographical or physical locations (except events taking place)
• Expressing a condition of how some one is
• Expressing a progressive situation

                                                                 ...use ESTAR
For the following situations....

• Referring to a location where an event is taking place
• Following the verb with a noun

                                                                 ...use SER

So, that's it for this week... those are some subtle differences that go a long way towards making some one sound very competent with the language.  Next week, we'll review the last two blogs and go over several examples, along with a quiz...