A1 · Unit 16 · 40 words, 2 texts with translation
Describe people and places
Say what people look like and what they're like, describe the place where you live, and learn when to use ser and when to use estar.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Ser and estar: what's the difference
Both verbs mean "to be", but Spanish uses them for different things. English has just one "to be", so for each sentence ask: is it what someone or something is like, or where it is and how it is right now?
| Person | ser — who or what someone is, what they're like | estar — where and how someone is now |
|---|---|---|
| yo | soy | estoy |
| tú | eres | estás |
| él / ella / usted | es | está |
| nosotros | somos | estamos |
| vosotros | sois | estáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | son | están |
Ser is for lasting traits: who someone is, where they're from, what they're like (personality or looks), their job, nationality, the time, what something is made of.
- Ana es alta y simpática. — Ana is tall and nice.
- Pablo es de Madrid. — Pablo is from Madrid.
- Mi vecino es trabajador. — My neighbor is hardworking.
Estar is for location and for a state at the moment (mood, how you feel, the result of something).
- Mi pueblo está cerca del mar. — My town is near the sea.
- La habitación está limpia. — The room is clean (right now).
- Mi hermano está cansado. — My brother is tired.
Some adjectives change their meaning:
| Adjective | with ser | with estar |
|---|---|---|
| abierto | Es abierto. — He's outgoing. | La tienda está abierta. — The store is open. |
| aburrido | Es aburrido. — He's boring. | Está aburrido. — He's bored. |
| limpio / sucio | Es limpio. — He's a tidy person. | Está limpio. — It's clean (right now). |
Adjectives: gender and number
In English an adjective never changes: a tall man, a tall woman, tall people. In Spanish it always matches its noun in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). It usually comes after the noun: un chico simpático (a nice guy), una casa antigua (an old house).
| Type | m. | f. | m. pl. | f. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ending in -o | alto | alta | altos | altas |
| ending in -e | amable | amable | amables | amables |
| ending in a consonant (-l, -z…) | feliz | feliz | felices | felices |
| ending in -or | trabajador | trabajadora | trabajadores | trabajadoras |
Examples:
- Mi hermano es alto y delgado. — My brother is tall and thin.
- Mi hermana es alta y delgada. — My sister is tall and thin.
- Mis padres son simpáticos. — My parents are nice.
- Mi vecina es trabajadora. — My neighbor (female) is hardworking.
For a group of men and women together, use the masculine: Ana y Pablo son simpáticos.
Comparing: tan… como — "as… as": Mi hermana es tan alta como yo (my sister is as tall as me); más… que — "more… than": Pablo es más alto que Ana (Pablo is taller than Ana).
Before a singular noun, bueno becomes buen, malo becomes mal and grande becomes gran: un buen vecino (a good neighbor), un gran edificio (a great building). Before the noun, gran usually means "great" rather than "big".
How to describe a person and a place
Looks. Use ser for height, build and looks; tener for parts of the body (hair, beard); llevar for what someone wears.
| What | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| height, build | ser + adjective | Pablo es alto y delgado. — Pablo is tall and thin. |
| hair | tener el pelo + adjective | Ana tiene el pelo largo y rubio. — Ana has long blond hair. |
| beard | tener barba | Mi padre tiene barba. — My father has a beard. |
| glasses | llevar gafas | Mi vecino lleva gafas. — My neighbor wears glasses. |
Unlike English "long hair", Spanish says "the hair long": el pelo largo, with el and the adjective after pelo.
Personality: ser + adjective: Mi hermano es tímido pero amable (my brother is shy but kind). Or tener buen carácter / tener mal carácter — to be good-natured / to have a bad temper.
Places: for a town, a building or a street, use ser for what it's like and estar for where it is or how it is right now.
- Mi pueblo es pequeño y tranquilo. — My town is small and quiet.
- El edificio es antiguo, pero está muy limpio. — The building is old, but it's very clean.
- La calle es ruidosa. — The street is noisy.
- Madrid es una ciudad moderna y famosa. — Madrid is a modern, famous city.
Questions. English makes the same split: ¿Cómo es…? is "What is he (she) like?", and ¿Cómo está…? is "How is he (she) doing?". For example: ¿Cómo es tu vecino? Es alto y simpático. But: ¿Cómo está tu vecino? Está enfadado.
Words in this unit
como — like, as; since
Mi hermano es alto como mi padre. — My brother is tall like my father.
alto — tall, high
Mi hermano es muy alto. — My brother is very tall.
bajo — short, low
Mi abuelo es bajo. — My grandfather is short.
la gente — people
Hay mucha gente en la calle. — There are a lot of people on the street.
el chico — boy, guy, young man
Pablo es un chico simpático. — Pablo is a nice guy.
la chica — girl, young woman
Ana es una chica muy simpática. — Ana is a very nice girl.
guapo — good-looking, handsome, pretty
Tu hermano es muy guapo. — Your brother is very handsome.
simpático — nice, friendly
Mi vecino es muy simpático. — My neighbor is very nice.
delgado — thin, slim
Mi hermano es alto y delgado. — My brother is tall and thin.
gordo — fat, thick
Mi gato es gordo. — My cat is fat.
el pelo — hair
Mi madre tiene el pelo largo. — My mother has long hair.
rubio — blond, fair-haired
Mi hermana es rubia. — My sister is blond.
moreno — dark-haired, dark-skinned
Mi padre es moreno. — My father is dark-haired.
largo — long
Mi madre tiene el pelo largo. — My mother has long hair.
corto — short
Mi padre tiene el pelo corto. — My father has short hair.
las gafas — glasses
Mi padre lleva gafas. — My father wears glasses.
la barba — beard
Mi padre tiene barba. — My father has a beard.
feo — ugly
El edificio es feo. — The building is ugly.
amable — kind, nice
Mi vecina es muy amable. — My neighbor (female) is very kind.
inteligente — intelligent, smart
Mi hermana es muy inteligente. — My sister is very smart.
antipático — unfriendly, unpleasant
El jefe es antipático. — The boss is unfriendly.
trabajador — hardworking
Mi padre es muy trabajador. — My father is very hardworking.
tímido — shy
Mi hermano es tímido. — My brother is shy.
serio — serious
Mi jefe es serio. — My boss is serious.
abierto — open, outgoing
Mi hermana es muy abierta. — My sister is very outgoing.
fuerte — strong
Mi hermano es muy fuerte. — My brother is very strong.
el carácter — character, personality
Mi hermano tiene buen carácter. — My brother has a good personality.
el vecino — neighbor
Mi vecino es muy amable. — My neighbor is very kind.
mismo — same
Vivimos en el mismo edificio. — We live in the same building.
diferente — different
Somos muy diferentes. — We're very different.
el pueblo — village, small town
Vivo en un pueblo pequeño. — I live in a small town.
el edificio — building
Vivo en un edificio antiguo. — I live in an old building.
antiguo — old, historic, ancient
Es una casa antigua. — It's an old house.
moderno — modern
Mi apartamento es moderno. — My apartment is modern.
famoso — famous
Es una calle muy famosa. — It's a very famous street.
típico — typical, traditional
Es un plato típico. — It's a traditional dish.
limpio — clean
Mi habitación está limpia. — My room is clean.
sucio — dirty
La cocina está sucia. — The kitchen is dirty.
ruidoso — noisy
Mi calle es muy ruidosa. — My street is very noisy.
en serio — seriously, really
¿En serio? ¡Qué bien! — Really? That's great!
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