Ser: soy, eres, es…

A verb is a word for an action or a state: speak, eat, live, be. Its dictionary form is called the infinitive, which in English starts with "to": to be. Spanish infinitives end in -ar, -er or -ir.

Ser means "to be". Like English be (I am, you are, he is), it changes its form for each person. Changing a verb's form like this is called conjugating it. Ser is irregular, so learn its forms by heart:

You usually leave out the pronoun, because the verb form already shows the person (Subject pronouns: yo, tú, él, ella…).

1. Names and identity

• Soy Marta.I'm Marta.
• Es un libro.It's a book.

2. Where someone is from: ser de

• Soy de Bilbao.I'm from Bilbao.
• Somos de Inglaterra.We're from England.

3. Jobs, with no "a"

With ser, jobs come without un or una (a/an):

• Juan es camarero.Juan is a waiter.
• Mi madre es profesora.My mother is a teacher.

Add un or una only when you describe the job with an adjective:

• Es un profesor muy bueno.He's a very good teacher.

4. What someone or something is like

Ser describes lasting qualities: personality, looks, size. The describing word (adjective) matches the person: alto for a man, alta for a woman (Adjectives agree and usually follow the noun).

• Eres muy simpática.You're very nice. (to a woman)
• Ellos son muy altos.They are very tall.
• La casa es grande.The house is big.

Questions and "not"

To ask a yes/no question, use the same words with question marks and a rising voice. To say "not", put no before the verb (No before the verb).

• ¿Sois amigos?Are you friends?
• No soy de aquí.I'm not from here.

Spanish has a second "to be"

Spanish has another verb for "to be": estar, used for how you feel and where things are (Estoy bien, I'm fine). It comes in Estar: how you are and where things are, and the full contrast in Ser or estar: the core contrast. For now: name, origin, job and description use ser.

Latin America

The forms are the same everywhere, except that Latin America uses ustedes son where Spain uses vosotros sois for friends.

Common mistakes

• Soy un profesor for a plain "I'm a teacher": jobs after ser normally take no article. Say Soy profesor.
• Yo es or Ellos es: each person has its own form: yo soy, ellos son.
• Using the tú form with usted: Usted eres. It's usted es.
• Using ser for feelings: "I'm tired" is Estoy cansado, with estar.