Decoding Ser and Estar: Not your "Permanent vs. Temporary" Guide
[Also see other topics that can be challenging for English-speaking learners, here ] In Spanish, we use two important and common verbs, ser and estar , to talk about different aspects of things and people. These verbs usually have one translation into English (to be) and other languages. Let's break it down: ESTAR is used for incidental, so usually temporary, conditions - it is like a snapshot of a situation. It comes from Latin stare , which means to stand and is linked to English status , stance , standing , and state . If you know French, you may be surprised to know English stay likely comes from Old French ester (ester>estre>e(s)tre> être) . It describes the condition or state in which something or someone happens to be in. SER , on the other hand, is used for essential qualities (not always permanent) and class membership . It expresses fundamental cha racteristics and entity/identity of what something or someone really is . Very important: such ident