Spanish has two verbs that both mean ‘to be’, and learning to choose between them is the whole work of this unit: ser for who and what, estar for where and how. Twenty-four study cards, a page of hints, a quiz in three tiers and four Workshop activities will get you choosing the right one without stopping to think.
This is Ana. In English one small word — is — covers everything about her.
English has one verb ‘to be’. Spanish has two, and they answer different questions. Ser answers who or what someone is. Estar answers how they are right now, or where they are.
What people get wrong
⚠️People often think…
Ser is for what is permanent and estar is for what is temporary.
That rule is the one most students are taught, and it is the one that fails them. Madrid está en España, and Madrid has not moved in a thousand years. Place always takes estar. The test that holds: identity and origin take ser; condition and place take estar.
Identity and origin, or condition and place.
⚠️People often think…
Yo soy cansado is how you say that you are tired.
Tired, sick, happy, sad, nervous and angry are conditions — how a person is at this moment. Every one of them takes estar. Estoy cansado. Ella está enferma. Soy cansado says tiredness is part of who you are.
How you feel is estar, every time.
⚠️People often think…
Ellos son jugando says that they are playing right now.
A word ending in -ando or -iendo never pairs with ser. What is happening right now is estar work, and only estar work. Ellos están jugando. Estoy hablando. Ella está comiendo.
-ando and -iendo belong to estar alone.
⚠️People often think…
Es aburrido and está aburrido are two ways to say the same thing.
They are two different sentences. Es aburrido says he is boring — people get bored near him. Está aburrido says he is bored right now. Listo and verde flip the same way: es lista is clever, está lista is ready.
The verb carries the meaning, not the adjective.
Choose the verb, three times
1Watch one
Ella ___ mi hermana. Es or está?
Does it say where she is? No.
Does it say how she feels today? No.
It says who she is — my sister.
Who or what takes ser. Ella es mi hermana. ✓
2Do one with me
Three sentences about you. Soy or estoy?
Yo ___ estudiante. A job takes
Yo ___ en la clase. A place takes
Yo ___ nervioso hoy. A feeling takes
💬One sentence, then you move on
Why does en la clase take estar, when the classroom never moves?
3Try one
Mi hermano ___ enfermo. Es or está?
I want a hint first
Is being sick who he is, or how he is today? A condition is true this week and gone the next.
💬Last one — then you’re done here
Why is permanent against temporary an unsafe rule?
Where this goes
Where this lives
Introducing your family to someone new, or telling a nurse how you feel today.
What this feeds
Next unit is the present tense. Ser and estar were the first two verbs; now every verb.
Name one thing about you that takes ser, and one that takes estar today.
One card at a time — tap “Show me” to check yourself, then Next. Start at Foundation; when those feel easy, climb.
Helpful Hints
🧭 The unit in one line
English has one verb ‘to be’. Spanish has two. Ser says what a thing IS — name, origin, job, material, time, and what a person is like. Estar says where it is and how it is — place, feeling, condition, and what is happening right now.
Ser = what. Estar = where and how.
🔑 The one idea
Do not translate. Ask what the sentence is doing. If it names or describes what something IS, use ser. If it puts something in a place, or tells how it feels or how it is at this moment, use estar. The English word ‘is’ will not help you choose — only the job of the sentence will.
⚠️ Traps to avoid
Place is ALWAYS estar, even when it never moves: Madrid está en España.
Tired, sick, happy, sad, nervous, angry — these are conditions. Estoy cansado, never soy cansado.
-ando and -iendo only ever pair with estar. Está hablando, never es hablando.
A job takes ser with no un or una: Soy estudiante. Mi padre es cocinero.
The describing word comes AFTER the noun and matches it: la casa blanca, las casas blancas.
Es aburrido and está aburrido are not the same sentence. One says he is boring; the other says he is bored.
‘Permanent versus temporary’ is only a rough rule. Location breaks it every time.
📐 The two verbs, side by side
Who
ser
estar
Example
yo
soy
estoy
Soy de Texas. Estoy en casa.
tú
eres
estás
Eres mi amiga. ¿Estás lista?
él / ella / usted
es
está
Es enfermera. Está enferma.
nosotros / nosotras
somos
estamos
Somos hermanos. Estamos aquí.
vosotros / vosotras
sois
estáis
Sois jóvenes. Estáis cansados.
ellos / ellas / ustedes
son
están
Son altos. Están jugando.
🧩 The three pairs that flip
es aburrido = he is boring · está aburrido = he is bored
es lista = she is clever · está lista = she is ready
es verde = it is green in color · está verde = it is not ripe yet
The pattern: ser gives you the lasting trait, estar gives you the state of the moment.
🎯 How you will be asked
A blank in a sentence — “ser or estar, and why?”
“Give the six present forms of ser. Now give the six of estar.”
“What is the difference between es aburrido and está aburrido?”
A sentence with the wrong verb or the wrong ending — “fix it and explain the fix.”
“Describe a person in five sentences, using both verbs.”
✅ Before the test, can you…
Say the six forms of ser, then the six of estar, without looking?
Name four jobs that belong to ser and three that belong to estar?
Build a progressive: hablar → está hablando, comer → está comiendo?
Make alto agree with a girl, with two boys, and with three girls?
Explain all three flipping pairs in your own words?
Introduce yourself in five sentences using both verbs correctly?
📚 Go to the sources
These open another website and need the internet. The RAE is the dictionary of the Spanish language academies; SpanishDict will read every form aloud, so you can hear where the accent falls.
Look back at anything you missed — the hint that appeared is exactly what to reread tonight.
How sure did you feel?
Workshop
Work like a speaker of Spanish: fill in the two-column chart, sort fourteen sentences by the verb they need, tag a paragraph about a new student, then argue which verb belongs in a sentence that could take either.
Your practice never leaves this device. There is no account and no sign-in. Your work is saved in this browser only, and you can erase it whenever you want.
Your practice record — saved on this device
This is your record of the module on screen — it stays here and goes nowhere. Independent means you got it right on the first tap; supported means you got it after the explain-and-retry, or marked ‘I had it’ on a revealed answer. Both count, and neither is a grade. If your teacher asks, copy the row or show them this screen.
Date
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Topic
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Level
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Independent
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Supported
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Hints used
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Cards studied
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Lab
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Traps met
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Explained in own words
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Confidence
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The answer key is for a teacher: it prints only from here, for the unit on screen. Print the study packet prints the study pages and a blank quiz — never the answers.