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What Seville is like. And what it's like today.

ser and estar: the verb that is one verb in English

Seville is beautiful, but today it's full of people.

Two «is», and in Spanish they are two different verbs. Getting them wrong is the first thing that gives an English speaker away — and nobody ever explains it properly.

ser — what something IS

What it is like, where it is from, what job it does, what its character is. The test: if you would still say it in ten years' time, it's ser.

ser → soyser → eresser → es
estar — how something IS right now

The state of the moment, and the place where something is. The test: if it could be different tomorrow, it's estar.

estar → estoyestar → estásestar → está

In English there is one verb «to be». In Spanish there are two, and picking one instead of the other is not a nuance: it changes what you are saying. It is the first real hurdle for anyone learning Spanish, and there is no way round it.

Sevilla es preciosa, pero hoy está llena de gente.
Seville is beautiful, but today it's full of people.
1ser — what something IS
ser→soyser→eresser→es

What it is like, where it is from, what job it does, what its character is. The test: if you would still say it in ten years' time, it's ser.

Soy inglés.
¿Eres de aquí?
Sevilla es preciosa.
2estar — how something IS right now
estar→estoyestar→estásestar→está

The state of the moment, and the place where something is. The test: if it could be different tomorrow, it's estar.

Estoy cansado.
¿Dónde estás?
La plaza está llena.
Soy cansado.
Estoy cansado.

In English you say «I am tired» and the temptation is to translate word for word. But tiredness passes: it is how you are right now, not what you are like. To a Spanish ear «soy cansado» sounds like «I am a tiresome person».

  • Where something is — always estar, even if it will never move: «la Giralda está en Sevilla». Location is estar, full stop — no reasoning about it.
  • listo, aburrido, bueno — change meaning depending on the verb. «Es listo» = he's clever; «está listo» = he's ready. «Es aburrido» = it's boring; «está aburrido» = he's bored. Same word, two different things.

How it sounds in real life

Now it's your turn

Four exercises, one at a time. They're marked right here on your phone: you know the answer straight away. Tap a word to translate it — it's free.

Exercise 1 of 4

Ser or estar? Tap the right form for each sentence.

For each sentence, tap the word that goes in the gap.

Yo ___ inglés.
Mi hermano ___ en casa.
La plaza ___ llena de gente.
Sevilla ___ preciosa.
Mi hermano ___ profesor.
Hoy yo ___ cansado.
La Giralda ___ en Sevilla.
La Giralda ___ muy alta.
The rule behind the exercise: Look at the two pairs: the Giralda IS tall for ever (ser), but it IS LOCATED in Seville (estar) — and location is always estar. Your brother IS a teacher by trade (ser), but right now he IS at home (estar). The thing doesn't change: what changes is whether you're saying what it's like or how it is right now.
Exercise 2 of 4

Put it back in order: «I'm English, but right now I'm in Seville.» — careful, the two «I'm» are not the same verb.

Tap the words in the right order.
The rule behind the exercise: In English you say «I'm» twice and never think about it. In Spanish the first is «soy» — where you're from, and that won't change — and the second is «estoy», because where you are right now is somewhere else tomorrow.
Exercise 3 of 4

Complete the scene. Ask yourself each time: is it what it's like, or how it is right now?

Es abril y Sevilla en feria. La ciudad preciosa todo el año, pero estos días las calles llenas de gente. Yo cansado, pero contento.

The rule behind the exercise: «Preciosa» holds all year round, so ser. The feria, the crowded streets and your tiredness last a few days, so estar. It is always the same question: does it last, or does it pass?
Exercise 4 of 4

You're at Spanish friends' house and the mother says: «el niño ya está listo». What is she saying?

The rule behind the exercise: «Estar listo» = to be ready. «Ser listo» = to be clever. The very same adjective, and what decides between the two meanings is the verb you put in front of it. It works the same way with aburrido: «es aburrido» is boring, «está aburrido» is bored.

This is one lesson, the same for everyone, and without the half you can't do without a profile: the dictation, the listening, the conversation, the final test. The others start from your level, remember what you get wrong, and each one lights up a city on the map of Spain. And they are all free, not just this one.

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This lesson is set in Sevilla. The city's page is open like this one, and there are a hundred and ninety more.

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