spanish speakers: ser vs estar

[prplchknz]

I know ser is used for more permanent things and estar is temporary but I dunno some how i keep getting them confused. I know ser is with time and place of origin but I dunno i keep reviewing it and I can do the separate but when I have to combine them I get confused so does anyone know any tricks to keep them straight because it's like i switch their uses. this is a big part of my final. I am get with the reflexive verbs, the direct and indirect pronouns (seperate and combined) but what seems like to be something easy i am not grasping.

P.S. I'm only in spanish one so we only deal with the present tense currently

 

[five sounds]

I think of ser as something essential. Like I am a female. The car is blue. Summer is hot.

Estar is like a condition. Like I am cold. The car is running. It's warm now.

 

[prplchknz]

I think of ser as something essential. Like I am a female. The car is blue. Summer is hot.

Estar is like a condition. Like I am cold. The car is running. It's warm now.

yeah I get them objectively but when I get deep into it I get confused

 

[five sounds]

yeah I get them objectively but when I get deep into it I get confused

Yeah it can be tricky sometimes. Some clues that it's estar is if there's any reference to time, before or after and stuff.

 

[Rasofy]

Use estar for moods, locations, daily climate... (there's more)

I suppose that requires practice

 

[Rasofy]

I'd say it's more like susceptible to be different than (necessarily) temporary

 

[Rasofy]

e.g. 'You are beautiful', could be translated to:


Estás bonita -> you'd be saying the woman is looking beautiful at that given time. This is usually used when the woman changed her hairstyle, is wearing an elegant dress, or lost a good amount of weight. Notice that there's no (necessary) implication that this is a temporary thing.

or

Eres bonita -> you'd be saying the woman is beautiful per se

(assuming the person is female)


Hope that helps

 

[gromit]

Yeah I think it comes down to practice and comfort. So you feeeeel the difference vs trying to mentally conjure it.

 

[miss fortune]

as my freshman year spanish professor liked to say:

what you feel and where you are
is when you use the verb estar

 

[93JC]

¿Dónde es el bar? Quiero una cerveza.

 

[cm81]

I know ser is used for more permanent things and estar is temporary but I dunno some how i keep getting them confused. I know ser is with time and place of origin but I dunno i keep reviewing it and I can do the separate but when I have to combine them I get confused so does anyone know any tricks to keep them straight because it's like i switch their uses. this is a big part of my final. I am get with the reflexive verbs, the direct and indirect pronouns (seperate and combined) but what seems like to be something easy i am not grasping.

P.S. I'm only in spanish one so we only deal with the present tense currently

It's my understanding that it only gets more confusing. Buy a verb book! They're immensely helpful!

 

[Rasofy]

On a related note, native Spanish/Portuguese speakers face a similar problem with the verbs make & do, as there's a single word for both.

'Hacer'

 

[miss fortune]

On a related note, native Spanish/Portuguese speakers face a similar problem with the verbs make & do, as there's a single word for both.

'Hacer'

we were routinely told to make our homework in several spanish classes

 

[Yaru]

I am a native Spanish speaker. I never associated those two things in my mind before.

Ser is To be. Ser humano= Human being

Ser sincero = being sincere

Is something you always are. And is unconditional.

Estar is being in some place,in some status of mind or physical condition.

Estar cansado= Being tired

Estar sentado= ''being'' sit. (the subject is sitting in that moment)

You sometimes are tired, sometimes you don´t, sometimes you are sitting sometimes you don't

Just in a few cases like emotional cases can be used both

Ser feliz, Estar feliz

But Ser feliz is more long term
Estar feliz is more about the present moment, or some other specific time.

''Deseo estar feliz'' I wish to be happy -sometime in the future-

''Deseo ser feliz'' I wish to be happy -Always-

Hope this helps

 

[Yaru]

It's my understanding that it only gets more confusing. Buy a verb book! They're immensely helpful!

don´t abuse of grammar rules text books. they mess up with the brain badly. Learn intuitively, it works.
I never opened an English grammar book before.

 

[prplchknz]

I am a native Spanish speaker. I never associated those two things in my mind before.

Ser is To be. Ser humano= Human being

Ser sincero = being sincere

Is something you always are. And is unconditional.

Estar is being in some place,in some status of mind or physical condition.

Estar cansado= Being tired

Estar sentado= ''being'' sit. (the subject is sitting in that moment)

You sometimes are tired, sometimes you don´t, sometimes you are sitting sometimes you don't

Just in a few cases like emotional cases can be used both

Ser feliz, Estar feliz

But Ser feliz is more long term
Estar feliz is more about the present moment, or some other specific time.

''Deseo estar feliz'' I wish to be happy -sometime in the future-

''Deseo ser feliz'' I wish to be happy -Always-

Hope this helps

ok but in english if you want to say i am tired (currently) you say i am tired but if you want to say you are forever tired you say i am always tired both those senteces uses the word am as in spanish one would be ser and the other estar.

it's more of keeping them straight because we use the same being verb to describe both temporary and permanent conditions

 

[Yaru]

I know ser is used for more permanent things and estar is temporary but I dunno some how i keep getting them confused. I know ser is with time and place of origin but I dunno i keep reviewing it and I can do the separate but when I have to combine them I get confused so does anyone know any tricks to keep them straight because it's like i switch their uses. this is a big part of my final. I am get with the reflexive verbs, the direct and indirect pronouns (seperate and combined) but what seems like to be something easy i am not grasping.

P.S. I'm only in spanish one so we only deal with the present tense currently

Ok. Sorry. I didn´t read your post haha. I was being lazy.

The only trick ACTUALLY helpful.

Listen, listen, listen and listen to whatever, examples, people talking, leave some youtube videos in spanish running while you change your clothes and clean the bathroom.

This way your brain will unconsciously associate sounds with meanings. Next time yoiu hear someone saying ''La flor ser muerta'' ''El gato estar gris'' Something in your brain will click and say '' what the hell, this sounds horrible!'' And you will automatically understand that ''la flor esta muerta'' and '' el gato es gris''

When I read the question I had to think about the differences even though Im a native speaker, because my brain is so used to use them automatically and intuitively that I dont really need to analyze the meaning, I just know it.

If you cannot listen because its too hard, try to read a lot, even if you dont understand, it will slowly make more sense page after page.

I started studying English in 2012 and I bought a 200 page book all in English. I didn't understand a thing at first, but at the end of the book English started to make much more sense to me

 

[Yaru]

ok but in english if you want to say i am tired (currently) you say i am tired but if you want to say you are forever tired you say i am always tired both those senteces uses the word am as in spanish one would be ser and the other estar.

it's more of keeping them straight because we use the same being verb to describe both temporary and permanent conditions

Yes, English is more simple in certain ways. But even if can be hard to do at first, you need to try not to translate the meaning in English because can be really confusing.

 

[prplchknz]

Ok. Sorry. I didn´t read your post haha. I was being lazy.

The only trick ACTUALLY helpful.

Listen, listen, listen and listen to whatever, examples, people talking, leave some youtube videos in spanish running while you change your clothes and clean the bathroom.

This way your brain will unconsciously associate sounds with meanings. Next time yoiu hear someone saying ''La flor ser muerta'' ''El gato estar gris'' Something in your brain will click and say '' what the hell, this sounds horrible!'' And you will automatically understand that ''la flor esta muerta'' and '' el gato es gris''

When I read the question I had to think about the differences even though Im a native speaker, because my brain is so used to use them automatically and intuitively that I dont really need to analyze the meaning, I just know it.

If you cannot listen because its too hard, try to read a lot, even if you dont understand, it will slowly make more sense page after page.

I started studying English in 2012 and I bought a 200 page book all in English. I didn't understand a thing at first, but at the end of the book English started to make much more sense to me

yeah I understand what is being said probably 50% of the time but only know how to respond 20% it's like i know the meanings as i'm being spoken to but i still can't respond if that makes sense. and I only know present tense conjugation so i can read a little bit in spanish like signs and stuff but i could not have a conversation

 

[Yaru]

yeah I understand what is being said probably 50% of the time but only know how to respond 20% it's like i know the meanings as i'm being spoken to but i still can't respond if that makes sense. and I only know present tense conjugation so i can read a little bit in spanish like signs and stuff but i could not have a conversation

Yes, it is normal. For how long have you been studying Spanish?

I am not sure what the present tense conjugation is.

You usually begin to speak when you feel confident and maybe if you find yourself in a situation where you have no choice but to speak.
It took me 3 years to learn english (until this level, of course I still have to learn a lot, but I can listen, read and express myself without effort)
The first year was the hardest. I started reading and listening a lot. But I could not write a straignt phrase without checking the translator and googling each sentence I wanted to write first (This is also because I can be crazy self conscious)
-if a Translator makes you feel more confident about it, don´t be afraid to use it. It will help you memorize some words as well.
it took me 3 to 6 months to start ´´kind of writing´´
after that, the second year I would write mostly fine, and would torture myself over pronounciation and stuff like that. But I could not talk at all. Last year I finally began to speak, and now I am fluent when I don´t think about it anymore. ( Unless I get self conscious, then I start mumbling and its the end of English)

Of course, since you are taking lessons (for what I could understand from your post)
You have to fit the learning system they want to force onto you (which can slow down the process a lot)
So it will be harder, but is not your fault. If you see other people that learn faster with that system if just because that way of learning fits them more.
You need to find out your own ways.
And don't be afraid to talk like a 2 year old. The more you try to say whatever the easier it will be to start making more sense