Do You Know How to "be" in Spanish?

**Did you know that there are two different verbs in Spanish for the verb to be?**

Well, now you do! Here’s Teresa, one of our Spanish language experts, to tell you the differences between ser and estar.

Confused? Watch the video and in one minute… you won’t be!

Both verbs ser and estar are translated with the same verb in English but also in most other languages…

Oh, dear… why two? Well… let’s better focus on when you use one or the other. It’s easier than you think!

When we want to express location, we use the verb estar:

Yo estoy en Barcelona. I am in Barcelona.

On the other hand, we use the verb ser for descriptions:

Mi profesora de Lingoda es muy simpática. My Lingoda teacher is nice.

We also use ser when referring to someone’s nationality or to introduce someone:

Nosotros somos de Alemania. We are from Germany.

When we are referring to personal or family relationships, the verb ser is used as well:

Juan y tú sois mis mejores amigos. Juan and you are my best friends.

To sum up: remember to use the verb estar to express location and the verb ser mainly to express identity:

This article was produced by one of the in-house Lingoda writers.