Identity, location, and state

What you will practice

• Use ser for identity, origin, a job, and clock time.
• Use estar for where a person or a thing is, and for a temporary state.
• Tell soy aburrido apart from estoy aburrido.

Explanation

Identity, origin, work, and time

ser says who someone is, where they are from, and what work they do. Soy Ana gives a name. Soy de México gives origin. A job title normally has no un or una: a woman says Soy profesora, and a man says Soy profesor. Clock time uses ser too. From two o’clock on, the verb is plural: Son las tres. One o’clock is singular: Es la una. After ser, the day has no article: Hoy es lunes.

Location and the chart

estar places a person or a thing, and it describes a condition the sentence presents as temporary. Estoy en casa means you are at home. El libro está en la mesa says where a thing is. Estoy cansada, said by a woman, means she is tired now. Do not use ser for that location. Soy en casa is not the sentence for where a person is. The table lines these jobs up so the verb and the meaning stay together.

Boring and bored

A few adjectives change meaning with the verb. Learn this pair first. Soy aburrido describes character: he is a boring person. Estoy aburrido describes a temporary state: he is bored right now. A woman says Soy aburrida or Estoy aburrida, because the adjective agrees with the person. The verb is what chooses between character and the feeling of the moment. They are not two spellings of one idea.

Examples

1. Soy profesora.I am a teacher.
2. Son las tres.It is three o'clock.
3. Hoy es lunes.Today is Monday.
4. Estoy en casa.I am at home.
5. Estoy aburrido.I am bored.

Common mistakes

• Soy en casa and El libro es en la mesa put location on the wrong verb. Use estar.
• This lesson locates people and things. Where a meeting or a party is held is a different pattern, and it is not taught here.