GRAMMAR:
Ser vs. estar
a. Whereas ser is used to indicate an attribute or an inherent quality that is not likely to change, estar is used to indicate a condition which is likely to change.
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Este río es muy ancho. | This river is very wide. |
Hoy el agua del río está caliente. | Today the river’s water is warm. |
b. Ser is often used to express the norm and estar, on the other hand, expresses a departure from that norm.
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Mario es una persona tranquila pero hoy está muy molesto. | Mario is a calm person but today he is very upset. |
The principle uses of ser
a. Ser is used to signify equivalence or identity between two elements of a sentence:
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Alberto es doctor. Alberto = doctor. |
Alberto is a doctor. |
María es una buena persona. María = buena persona. |
Maria is a good person. | |
Ramón es colombiano. Ramón = colombiano. |
Ramon is Colombian. |
b. Origin: ser + de + country
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Diego es de Perú. | Diego is from Peru. |
Este tapete es de México. | This rug is from Mexico. |
c. possession
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Esa bicicleta es de Gustavo. | That bike is Gustavo’s. |
Las llaves son de Julio. | Those keys are Julio’s. |
d. time
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Son las dos. | It’s two. |
Es la una y media. | It’s one thirty. |
e. dates
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Hoy es el cuarto de junio. | Today is the fourth of June. |
Es jueves. | It’s Thursday. |
The principle uses of estar
a. location of an object
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La escuela esta al lado del correo. | The school is next to the post office. |
b. to express the present progressive
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Estoy escribiendo. | I am writing. |
Juan está escuchando. | Juan is listening. |
c. resultant condition: estar + past participle
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Estoy cansado. | I am tired. |
Estamos despiertos. | We are awake. |
PHRASES:
Les piden muchos documentos a las personas que quieren obtener el pasaporte. | People that want to obtain a passport are asked for many documents. |
Mi prima le ha pedido a su novio que le dé fecha para la boda. | My cousin has asked her boyfriend to give her a date for their wedding. |
En Guatemala, muchas personas han llenado muchas solicitudes para ir a trabajar a Canadá. | In Guatemala many people have filled out a lot of applications to go work in Canada. |
Después de escribirles los datos generales en los formularios a los conferencistas, los traductores han tomado un descanso. | After writing down general information for the conference leaders, the translators have taken a rest. |
Algunas personas han solicitado la doble nacionalidad. | Some people have applied for double nationality. |
Me han advertido que esos trámites toman mucho tiempo. | They have told me that those proceedings take a lot of time. |
Les han pedido muchos requisitos a los aspirantes del puesto. | They’ve asked the position’s applicants for many requirements. |
¿Toma mucho tiempo tramitar la visa? | Does it take a long time to process the visa? |
A mi madre no le ha tomado tanto tiempo, ella ha corrido con suerte. | It hasn’t taken my mother that much time, she’s been lucky. |
Nunca nos han revisado la firma a la hora de usar la tarjeta de crédito. | They’ve never checked the signature when we use our credit card. |
VOCABULARY:
datos generales (m) | general information | |
documento (m) | document | |
edad (f) | age | |
fecha (f) | date | |
firma (s) | signature |
nacionalidad (f) | nationality | |
nombre (m) | name | |
ocupación (f) | occupation | |
pasaporte (m) | passport | |
solicitud (f) | application |