The Verb Ser (Permanent 'To Be')

Level: A1. Spanish has two verbs that both translate as “to be”: ser and estar. Ser is the one for the things that define someone or something — who they are, where they are from, what they are made of, what time it is. Its present tense is irregular, so it is worth learning as a set.

The rule

Ser describes the essential, defining facts about a subject: identity, profession, nationality and origin, relationships, material, and clock time. These are the traits you would put on an ID card rather than a mood or a temporary state.

Use ser for:

• Identity and description: Soy María. Es alto. (I’m María. He is tall.)
• Profession: Somos profesores. (We are teachers.)
• Origin and nationality: Es de México. Son españoles. (He is from Mexico. They are Spanish.)
• Material and possession: La mesa es de madera. El libro es de Ana. (The table is wooden. The book is Ana’s.)
• Time, days and dates: Son las dos. Hoy es lunes. (It’s two o’clock. Today is Monday.)

For feelings, changing states and location, Spanish uses estar instead — that contrast is the next thing to learn after this page.

Present tense of ser

How to say it

Spanish spelling is regular; mind these few sounds in the forms of ser:

Example sentences

Each sentence was written for this lesson (not copied from a third-party corpus).

1. Soy estudiante.
   I am a student.
   identity / role
2. Soy de Singapur.
   I am from Singapore.
   origin
3. Tú eres mi amigo.
   You are my friend.
4. ¿Eres profesor?
   Are you a teacher?
5. Él es alto.
   He is tall.
   a defining trait
6. Ella es médica.
   She is a doctor.
7. Usted es muy amable.
   You (formal) are very kind.
8. El coche es de Juan.
   The car is Juan's.
   possession
9. La mesa es de madera.
   The table is made of wood.
   material
10. Nosotros somos hermanos.
    We are siblings.
11. Nosotras somos amigas.
    We are friends.
12. Vosotros sois estudiantes.
    You all are students.
    Spain, informal plural
13. Ellos son españoles.
    They are Spanish.
    nationality
14. Ellas son inteligentes.
    They (female) are intelligent.
15. Son las dos.
    It is two o'clock.
    clock time
16. Es la una.
    It is one o'clock.
    singular for one o'clock
17. Hoy es lunes.
    Today is Monday.
    day of the week
18. ¿Qué hora es?
    What time is it?
19. El libro es interesante.
    The book is interesting.
20. ¿De dónde eres?
    Where are you from?

Common mistakes

• ❌ Estoy profesor. → ✅ Soy profesor. A profession is an identity, so it takes ser, not estar.
• ❌ Está las dos. → ✅ Son las dos. Clock time always uses ser: es la una, son las dos.
• ❌ Soy en casa. → ✅ Estoy en casa. Physical location takes estar; ser is not for where you are.
• ❌ Yo es de México. → ✅ Yo soy de México. Match the form to the subject: yo takes soy, not es.
• ❌ Somos de madera for an all-female group of people → ✅ keep ser for material only (la mesa es de madera); for people use the right form, e.g. somos amigas.

A short conversation

— ¿Quién eres? (Who are you?) — Soy Ana. Soy de Chile y soy médica. (I’m Ana. I’m from Chile and I’m a doctor.) — ¿Y ellos? (And them?) — Son mis hermanos. Son estudiantes. (They are my siblings. They are students.)

Notice every answer states an identity, an origin or a role — exactly the work ser does.

Usage notes

• es and son cover three subjects each. Because usted and ustedes use third-person verbs, es serves él, ella and usted, and son serves ellos, ellas and ustedes. A subject pronoun often clears up who is meant.
• The pronoun is usually dropped. Soy de México needs no yo; the ending already shows the subject. Add the pronoun only for emphasis or contrast.
• “One o’clock” is singular. Use es la una for one o’clock and half-past one; from two o’clock on, use son las: son las dos, son las diez.
• ser is irregular — learn it whole. The forms soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son do not follow the regular -er pattern, so memorise them as a block.

Compared with…

• estar is the other “to be”, used for feelings, changing states, and physical location: estoy cansado (I’m tired), está en casa (he’s at home). Where ser gives a permanent identity, estar gives a current state. See Estar in the present.
• ser vs estar together is the choice that trips up every learner, because many adjectives work with both and change meaning: es listo (he is clever) versus está listo (he is ready). The full decision guide is on Ser vs Estar.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

Ser present practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Which form goes with yo?

eres soy es somos

Check

Show answer

soy — Yo soy — the first-person present of ser.

2 Complete: Nosotros ____ hermanos. (We are siblings.)

Check

Hint: the nosotros form of ser

Show answer

somos — Nosotros somos — the first-person plural of ser.

3 Build: 'They are from Spain.'

desonEspañaellos

CheckReset

Show answer

ellos son de España — Ellos son de España — son is the ellos form; de marks origin.

4 Match each subject with its ser form.

• yo Match for yo — choose — eresessonsoy
• tú Match for tú — choose — eresessonsoy
• él / ella Match for él / ella — choose — eresessonsoy
• ellos / ellas Match for ellos / ellas — choose — eresessonsoy

Check

Show answer

• yo → soy
• tú → eres
• él / ella → es
• ellos / ellas → son

soy, eres, es, son — the core present forms of ser.

5 Choose the natural 'It is two o'clock.'

Está las dos. Son las dos. Es las dos. Están las dos.

Check

Show answer

Son las dos. — Clock time uses ser, plural from two o'clock on: son las dos.

Quiz

Check yourself

Ser present quiz

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1Which is the yo form of ser?

   A eres B soy C es D son
   Show answer

   soy — Yo soy.

2. 2'You (informal) are my friend' is…

   A Tú soy mi amigo B Tú eres mi amigo C Tú es mi amigo D Tú son mi amigo
   Show answer

   Tú eres mi amigo — tú takes eres.

3. 3Which does ser cover?

   A a passing mood B physical location right now C identity and origin D being tired
   Show answer

   identity and origin — Ser is for identity, origin, time and essence; states and location take estar.

4. 4'She is a doctor' is…

   A Ella está médica B Ella es médica C Ella soy médica D Ella son médica
   Show answer

   Ella es médica — A profession is an identity, so it takes ser: ella es médica.

5. 5'We are siblings' is…

   A Nosotros son hermanos B Nosotros somos hermanos C Nosotros sois hermanos D Nosotros es hermanos
   Show answer

   Nosotros somos hermanos — nosotros takes somos.

6. 6Which verb form does usted use?

   A soy B eres C es D somos
   Show answer

   es — usted uses the third-person es, like él/ella.

7. 7'It is one o'clock' is…

   A Son la una B Es la una C Está la una D Es las una
   Show answer

   Es la una — One o'clock is singular: es la una.

8. 8Complete: Ellos ____ españoles. (They are Spanish.)
   Check
   Show answer

   son — ellos takes son.

9. 9'The table is made of wood' is…

   A La mesa está de madera B La mesa es de madera C La mesa soy de madera D La mesa son de madera
   Show answer

   La mesa es de madera — Material takes ser: la mesa es de madera.

10. 10Which sentence is wrong?

    A Soy estudiante B Estoy profesor C Son las dos D Es de México
    Show answer

    Estoy profesor — A profession takes ser: soy profesor, not estoy profesor.

11. 11'You all are very kind' (Spain) is…

    A Vosotros son muy amables B Vosotros sois muy amables C Vosotros es muy amables D Vosotros somos muy amables
    Show answer

    Vosotros sois muy amables — vosotros takes sois.

12. 12What does 'Está aburrido' mean, versus 'Es aburrido'?

    A both mean 'he is boring' B he is bored (a state) versus he is boring (a trait) C both mean 'he is bored' D he is boring versus he is bored
    Show answer

    he is bored (a state) versus he is boring (a trait) — estar gives the passing state 'bored'; ser gives the trait 'boring'.

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Learn the other “to be”: Estar in the present
• Then the decision guide: Ser vs Estar
• Back to the Spanish grammar section
• New here? Start with Start Learning Spanish Here