November 10, 2025 ā¢ 10 mins
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Ser" and "Estar." To be... and to be again?
Confused about when to use ser and estar in Spanish?
You're not alone! In this episode of Speaking Spanish for Beginners, you'll learn simple, beginner-friendly rules to help you use these two tricky verbs with confidence.
Get a solid head start for your next conversation en espaƱol. Ā”Vamos!
š Study along with the summary on Latin ELE's blog ā¬ļøĀ
https://latinele.com/ser-vs-estar-spanish-beginners/
š§ Join ourĀ Spanish Beginner Supporters Club and get access to 100+ exclusive episodes to boost your espaƱol with confidence.
ā¤ļø And if you like our show, donāt forget to rate us on your listening app :)
āāāāā
Ser" and "Estar." To be... and to be again?
Confused about when to use ser and estar in Spanish?
You're not alone! In this episode of Speaking Spanish for Beginners, you'll learn simple, beginner-friendly rules to help you use these two tricky verbs with confidence.
Get a solid head start for your next conversation en espaƱol. Ā”Vamos!
š Study along with the summary on Latin ELE's blog ā¬ļøĀ
https://latinele.com/ser-vs-estar-spanish-beginners/
š§ Join ourĀ Spanish Beginner Supporters Club and get access to 100+ exclusive episodes to boost your espaƱol with confidence.
ā¤ļø And if you like our show, donāt forget to rate us on your listening app :)
āāāāā
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Ser o star to be or wait to be again.
Why are there two verbs that mean to be in Spanish? Well,
let's find out in this new episode of Speaking Spanish
four Beginners, bamos get my dear listener, comstas do vien
(00:35):
I really hope so Welcome to a new episode of
Speaking Spanish four Beginners. Mayamo marco so cry at this podcast,
and in this episode you learn some of the uses
of the verbs there and a star. Have you heard
about these two verbs before?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, they are a pain in the act.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
They seems to be a headache for many students. But
here I will give you some explanation on how they
work and also a listening exercise so you can practice
this verve and learn how to use them. List tos bamos.
In order to learn about ser and start, we will
(01:17):
first listen to a dialogue between two friends who run
into each other on the street. They haven't seen each
other for a long time, and they ask questions about
how they are doing. They talk about a mutual person
they know well, basically catching up, and after we listen,
we will analyze what it's involved in sert and start
(01:38):
in the dialogue. Ready, bamos alla Patricia coast tempo.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Ola marco to.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Bien stoy moi felis for quevajo and nova presa miss
collet on mui sympaticos it doo kiases la.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Vida jenn l is moya maritos.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Posa jessica yesta vien he just professora elon vers lava
gultard stastra gasa Jessica sta mui contenta lafa gultad bheno
mamas aver. Let's learn more about cer and a star.
(02:35):
Let's start with the uses of the verb in the dialogue.
This verb is used to describe what people are like.
In the dialogue. For example, I describe my colleagues collegas,
say oh l a a hey ah s collegas, I say,
(02:59):
miss college so moi sympaticos. Sympathico means likable, agreeable, sympaticos.
And to describe my colleagues, I say so on sympaticos
using the verb ser Patricia also describes a person. She
(03:19):
describes her boss hefe hotel a fe a hefe hey yeah,
discreve as so hefe She says eli's mooi a mavele
a mavely means kind and nice a mavely ah amy
(03:42):
ah b l a a a mavele, and she says,
is mooei a maveley, he's very nice. So that's the
first use of the verb ser to describe a person.
It can be a physical description, or it can also
be about the personality, to describe a person as they
(04:04):
normally are. That's a key aspect to understand the verb
seir the features we normally associate with a person. The
second use of the verb set in the dialogue is
for describing the occupation of people. When you talk about
another person in the dialogue, Jessica, who is me esposa?
(04:26):
I say, A yeah is puro fasoda, She's a professor
at the university. A yeah is professsda e lon Niversida.
Using sert plus occupation is profes soda. So, my friends,
to reck up this section. The first use of ser
(04:47):
is to describe a person or something, and the second
use is to talk about a person's occupation. Let's continue
now with the verb start. This is using the dialogue
to describe the mood of the people talking. When Patricia
asked me, how are you, I say, bien a stoy
(05:10):
moi Phelie, I'm very happy. Stoy mouei felice porque bajo
and una nueva compania. I'm very happy because I work
at a new company. So stoy Phelie. That's my mood.
That's how I feel. When she asked me how are you?
(05:30):
That's not so? Why the question to us about how
are you? In Spanish is como. Stars are not como.
It is so we ask como is tas. I also
use a start in the dialogue. When I describe how
my wife feels at university. I say, hey, yeah, start
(05:51):
MOI contenta elon Universai that mean and she's very glad
with her job at the faculty. A yesta my contenta
la faculta. Another use of a start in the dialogue
is to talk about location. I mentioned that university when
(06:11):
my wife works, is close to her house. Laugh facultat
ista circa the faculty is close. So to talk about
the locations of people and things, we use a start.
And here I want to clarify something I said. We
use a start with location, not origin. What do I
(06:36):
mean by that? If somebody asked me, they don't there,
it is where are you from? They don't there it is.
I would say so the tile, using the verb sair
to talk about my origin. But if somebody asks me
where are you, don't they is stars asking about my location?
(06:59):
I would reply a stoy e mi casa using the
verb star, because that's where I am at this moment.
So to recap this section about a star, we use
this verb to talk about the mood of somebody or
how a person feels, and also to talk about locations
of people and objects. It all starts to make sense now, easy,
(07:24):
psy nice. So let's listen to the dialogue one more
time so you can practice more now that you know.
Explanations of what is involved with ser and a star
listos bamus ola Patricia coast tempo ola Marco to bien
(07:48):
stoy moi felis forquevajo presa miss colegas on mui sympaticos
it doo chiass la vida.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
J elis moya mariposa, Jessica yesta vien he just profesora e.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
La statra casa Jessica sta mui contenta. Was it easier
this time? I really hope. So remember that you can
always go back to that section in this podcast, and
you may be thinking Marco h only four rules? Is
(08:39):
that all about Said and a Star? Well, actually no,
but this is what's relevant for you at this level.
Some of my students have bought books about SI and
a Star more than one hundred pages, but they normally
end up more confused. So my advice is the following
(09:03):
study what's relevant at your level. You don't want to
generate any additional frustration on yourself at this point. Knowing
these basic rules is a good start, and it's better
than learning all the rules at once, So go at
your own pace. There is no need to rush, and
a good tutor can help you with that. Okay, miss
(09:28):
a Egos, it's time to practice. Now. I will ask
you two questions, and when you hear this sound, you
have to reply with your own information. I will ask
you about your occupation and where you are right now.
List those they wonta or no qual less to go
(09:51):
passion but they wonta does don't they?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Is?
Speaker 1 (10:00):
That's aura? If you were paying attention, you must know
that for question one you had to use se plus occupation,
and in the second question, as that one was about location,
you needed to use a start. Remember, you can always
(10:21):
go back and listen again and that's all for today. Yes,
speaking Spanish for beginners. If you enjoy the show, please
leave a five star review and recommend it to a friend.
Want to stay in touch and keep improving your Spanish, Yes,
(10:42):
then subscribe to my newsletter. You'll get my best tips
and resources to learn Spanish. Plus, when you become a
subscriber with the link in the description, you get my
free course Spanish Kickstart. Sign up using the link in
the description at Bronto that out
Ser o star to be or wait to be again.
Why are there two verbs that mean to be in Spanish? Well,
let's find out in this new episode of Speaking Spanish
four Beginners, bamos get my dear listener, comstas do vien
(00:35):
I really hope so Welcome to a new episode of
Speaking Spanish four Beginners. Mayamo marco so cry at this podcast,
and in this episode you learn some of the uses
of the verbs there and a star. Have you heard
about these two verbs before?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, they are a pain in the act.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
They seems to be a headache for many students. But
here I will give you some explanation on how they
work and also a listening exercise so you can practice
this verve and learn how to use them. List tos bamos.
In order to learn about ser and start, we will
(01:17):
first listen to a dialogue between two friends who run
into each other on the street. They haven't seen each
other for a long time, and they ask questions about
how they are doing. They talk about a mutual person
they know well, basically catching up, and after we listen,
we will analyze what it's involved in sert and start
(01:38):
in the dialogue. Ready, bamos alla Patricia coast tempo.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Ola marco to.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Bien stoy moi felis for quevajo and nova presa miss
collet on mui sympaticos it doo kiases la.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Vida jenn l is moya maritos.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Posa jessica yesta vien he just professora elon vers lava
gultard stastra gasa Jessica sta mui contenta lafa gultad bheno
mamas aver. Let's learn more about cer and a star.
(02:35):
Let's start with the uses of the verb in the dialogue.
This verb is used to describe what people are like.
In the dialogue. For example, I describe my colleagues collegas,
say oh l a a hey ah s collegas, I say,
(02:59):
miss college so moi sympaticos. Sympathico means likable, agreeable, sympaticos.
And to describe my colleagues, I say so on sympaticos
using the verb ser Patricia also describes a person. She
(03:19):
describes her boss hefe hotel a fe a hefe hey yeah,
discreve as so hefe She says eli's mooi a mavele
a mavely means kind and nice a mavely ah amy
(03:42):
ah b l a a a mavele, and she says,
is mooei a maveley, he's very nice. So that's the
first use of the verb ser to describe a person.
It can be a physical description, or it can also
be about the personality, to describe a person as they
(04:04):
normally are. That's a key aspect to understand the verb
seir the features we normally associate with a person. The
second use of the verb set in the dialogue is
for describing the occupation of people. When you talk about
another person in the dialogue, Jessica, who is me esposa?
(04:26):
I say, A yeah is puro fasoda, She's a professor
at the university. A yeah is professsda e lon Niversida.
Using sert plus occupation is profes soda. So, my friends,
to reck up this section. The first use of ser
(04:47):
is to describe a person or something, and the second
use is to talk about a person's occupation. Let's continue
now with the verb start. This is using the dialogue
to describe the mood of the people talking. When Patricia
asked me, how are you, I say, bien a stoy
(05:10):
moi Phelie, I'm very happy. Stoy mouei felice porque bajo
and una nueva compania. I'm very happy because I work
at a new company. So stoy Phelie. That's my mood.
That's how I feel. When she asked me how are you?
(05:30):
That's not so? Why the question to us about how
are you? In Spanish is como. Stars are not como.
It is so we ask como is tas. I also
use a start in the dialogue. When I describe how
my wife feels at university. I say, hey, yeah, start
(05:51):
MOI contenta elon Universai that mean and she's very glad
with her job at the faculty. A yesta my contenta
la faculta. Another use of a start in the dialogue
is to talk about location. I mentioned that university when
(06:11):
my wife works, is close to her house. Laugh facultat
ista circa the faculty is close. So to talk about
the locations of people and things, we use a start.
And here I want to clarify something I said. We
use a start with location, not origin. What do I
(06:36):
mean by that? If somebody asked me, they don't there,
it is where are you from? They don't there it is.
I would say so the tile, using the verb sair
to talk about my origin. But if somebody asks me
where are you, don't they is stars asking about my location?
(06:59):
I would reply a stoy e mi casa using the
verb star, because that's where I am at this moment.
So to recap this section about a star, we use
this verb to talk about the mood of somebody or
how a person feels, and also to talk about locations
of people and objects. It all starts to make sense now, easy,
(07:24):
psy nice. So let's listen to the dialogue one more
time so you can practice more now that you know.
Explanations of what is involved with ser and a star
listos bamus ola Patricia coast tempo ola Marco to bien
(07:48):
stoy moi felis forquevajo presa miss colegas on mui sympaticos
it doo chiass la vida.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
J elis moya mariposa, Jessica yesta vien he just profesora e.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
La statra casa Jessica sta mui contenta. Was it easier
this time? I really hope. So remember that you can
always go back to that section in this podcast, and
you may be thinking Marco h only four rules? Is
(08:39):
that all about Said and a Star? Well, actually no,
but this is what's relevant for you at this level.
Some of my students have bought books about SI and
a Star more than one hundred pages, but they normally
end up more confused. So my advice is the following
(09:03):
study what's relevant at your level. You don't want to
generate any additional frustration on yourself at this point. Knowing
these basic rules is a good start, and it's better
than learning all the rules at once, So go at
your own pace. There is no need to rush, and
a good tutor can help you with that. Okay, miss
(09:28):
a Egos, it's time to practice. Now. I will ask
you two questions, and when you hear this sound, you
have to reply with your own information. I will ask
you about your occupation and where you are right now.
List those they wonta or no qual less to go
(09:51):
passion but they wonta does don't they?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Is?
Speaker 1 (10:00):
That's aura? If you were paying attention, you must know
that for question one you had to use se plus occupation,
and in the second question, as that one was about location,
you needed to use a start. Remember, you can always
(10:21):
go back and listen again and that's all for today. Yes,
speaking Spanish for beginners. If you enjoy the show, please
leave a five star review and recommend it to a friend.
Want to stay in touch and keep improving your Spanish, Yes,
(10:42):
then subscribe to my newsletter. You'll get my best tips
and resources to learn Spanish. Plus, when you become a
subscriber with the link in the description, you get my
free course Spanish Kickstart. Sign up using the link in
the description at Bronto that out
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