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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.

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.

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.

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.

Exercise 4 of 4

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

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.