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ser - to be | ||||||||
present | preterite | imperfect | future | |||||
(yo) | soy | I am | fui | era | I was | seré | I will be | |
(tú / vos) | eres / sos | you are |
fuiste |
eras |
you were | serás |
you will be | |
(él / ella) (usted) |
es es |
he / she / it is you are |
fue fue |
era era |
he / she / it was you were |
será será |
he / she / it will be you will be |
|
(nosotros / -as) | somos | we are | fuimos | éramos | we were | seremos | we will be | |
(vosotros / -as) | sois | you are | fuisteis | erais | you were | seréis | you will be | |
(ellos / ellas) (ustedes) |
son son |
they are you are |
fueron fueron |
eran eran |
they were you were |
serán serán |
they will be you will be |
estar - to be | |||||||
present | preterite | imperfect | future | ||||
(yo) | estoy | I am | estuve | estaba | I was | estaré | I will be |
(tú / vos) | estás | you are | estuviste | estabas | you were | estarás |
you will be |
(él / ella) (usted) |
está está |
he / she / it is you are |
estuvo estuvo |
estaba estaba |
he / she / it was you were |
estará estará |
he / she / it will be you will be |
(nosotros / -as) | estamos | we are | estuvimos | estábamos | we were | estaremos | we will be |
(vosotros / -as) | estáis | you are | estuvisteis | estabais | you were | estaréis | you will be |
(ellos / ellas) (ustedes) |
están están |
they are you are |
estuvieron estuvieron |
estaban estaban |
they were you were |
estarán estarán |
they will be you will be |
tener - to have | |||||||
present | preterite | imperfect | future | ||||
(yo) | tengo | I have | tuve | tenía | I had | tendré | I will have |
(tú / vos) | tienes / tenés | you have |
tuviste | tenías |
you had |
tendrás |
you will have |
(él / ella) (usted) |
tiene tiene |
he / she / it has you have |
tuvo tuvo |
tenía tenía |
he / she / it had you had |
tendrá tendrá |
he / she / it will have you will have |
(nosotros / -as) | tenemos | we have | tuvimos | teníamos | we had | tendremos | we will have |
(vosotros / -as) | tenéis | you have | tuvisteis | teníais | you had | tendréis | you will have |
(ellos / ellas) (ustedes) |
tienen tienen |
they have you have |
tuvieron tuvieron |
tenían tenían |
they had you had |
tendrán tendrán |
they will have you will have |
Highlighted forms are only used in northern/central Spain. You do not need to use the subject pronouns unless you want to emphasize the person, or to avoid ambiguity.
The conjugation for vos is usually only different from the tú conjugation in the present tense and the imperative (commands), though there can be differences in the preterite and subjunctive as well. Sometimes the present tense conjugation is identical to the tú conjugation (in which case, there will only be one form given in the conjugation charts). For the present tense conjugation of ser, in some regions of Chile, Colombia, and Cuba the vos conjugation is soi, whereas in some parts of Panama and Venezuela it is sois. A final -s may or may not be used for the vos conjugation in the preterite tense. There is a lot of variation in the vos conjugations, in addition to the use of the pronoun tú with a vos conjugation or the pronoun vos with a tú conjugation. Voseo is usually associated with Argentina but there are many more places in Latin America that use vos in some form so it is important to be aware of it.
The difference between the preterite and imperfect tenses will be explained in Spanish II. In general, the preterite expresses a completed action in the past while the imperfect expresses a repeated or continuing action in the past. For now, just learn the forms for recognition purposes.
Ser is used to identify or describe. It tells what something is, its basic characteristics, or its origin. Estar is used to tell the location of something or how someone feels.
Uses of Ser
Identify person/object Inherent characteristics or qualities Nationality/Occupation Telling time Express ownership Impersonal expressions Passive voice |
El edificio es un templo. La casa es grande. Carlos es pobre. Es carpintero. Son las tres. Los libros son de Juan. Es necesario. El teléfono fue inventado por Bell. |
The building is a temple. The house is large. Charles is poor. He is a carpenter. It's three o'clock. The books are John's. It is necessary. The telephone was invented by Bell. |
Uses of Estar
Location/position Temporary condition/state State of health Form progressive tense |
El libro está en la mesa. La ventana está abierta. Juan está enfermo. Miguel está estudiando. |
The book is on the table. The window is open. John is sick. Michael is studying. |
Sometimes changing the verb can completely change the meaning: ser aburrido means to be boring, while estar aburrido means to be bored. Others include: ser bueno - to be nice, estar bueno - to be in good health; ser callado - to be discrete, estar callado - to be silent; ser moreno - to have brown hair, estar moreno - to be tan.
Many common expressions using the verb "be" in English use the verb "tener" in Spanish (but not all):
to be afraid | tener miedo | to be in a hurry | tener prisa, estar de prisa |
to be against | estar en contra | to be jealous | tener celos |
to be at fault | tener la culpa | to be lucky | tener suerte |
to be careful | tener cuidado | to be patient | tener paciencia |
to be cold | tener frío | to be sleepy | tener sueño |
to be curious | ser curioso/a | to be successful | tener éxito |
to be fed up | estar harto/a | to be thirsty | tener sed |
to be happy | estar contento/a | to be tired | estar cansado/a |
to be hot | tener calor | to be ___ years old | tener ___ años |
to be hungry | tener hambre |
Tener is also used with the following expressions that use "have" in English:
No tengo ni idea. I have no idea.
¿Tienes un resfriado? Do you have a cold?
Tengo que irme. I have to go.
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