In a lot of ways ‘to be’ in Spanish is quite straightforward. However, at the same time the concept of verbally differentiating between types of state of being is quite foreign to English speakers.
For English speakers:
‘The cat is orange. That is a cat on the table.’
In both cases the same word, ‘is’, is used as it would be any time we are talking about the existence or state of something.
However, in Spanish the same two sentences would be written as:
‘El gato es naranja. El gato está sobre la mesa.’
One statement uses ‘es’, a form of ‘ser’ whereas the other uses ‘está’, a form of ‘estar’. Why?
Frequently it is said that in the most basic terms ser is used to refer to a feature that is intrinsic to the nature of something whereas estar is a more transient state of to be. If you are at a complete loss as to which to use this is a good fall back, but there are of course a multitude of exceptions so its best to get to know all the subtitles of using these unique verbs.
When to use Ser:
- - a fundamental physical description
- - personality or character
- - ethnic background, race or nationality
- – religious or political affiliation
- - name or title
- - profession
- – relationship of one person to another – i.e. She is my sister.
- - the date, time, season or location of an event
- - i.e. The party is Friday. It is at 10 PM. The festival is in the fall. The movie is at the theater.
- - Telling time in general – i.e. It is 12:13 PM.
- - i.e. The statue is marble. The table is wood.
- - i.e. The statue is yours. The table is mine.
- - i.e. It is important to get daily exercise.
When to use Estar:
- - how you currently feel ‘I am tired.’
- - what your mood is – ‘She is nervous.’ (whereas using the ver ser here would indicate that she is fundamentally a nervous person, no just that she is nervous at this moment)
- - current appearance or physical condition – ‘You are pretty today.’ (whereas ser would mean that the person was pretty in general)
- - the state of a relationship (single, married, divorce)
- - whether someone is living or dead
- - the current location of something or someone (but not an event – ser is always used to refer to an event) – ‘I am at the park.’
- - i.e. The girl is playing. The boy is reading.
[...] Answering the Question with ‘to be’ - Ser To formulate your answer to ¿Qué hora es? you will use ’ser’, the ‘to be’ that is always used to express time. If you’re a little foggy on what exactly ’ser’ is, check out To Be or Not to Be in Spanish. [...]