B1 · Unit 17 · 44 words, 3 texts with translation
Describe personality and mood
Describe what someone is like and how they feel today. Learn how ser and estar change the meaning of some adjectives, plus words about habits and behavior.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Ser and estar: adjectives that change meaning
You already know this: ser says what a person or thing is like in general, and estar says how they are right now (A1, unit 16). The pair es aburrido / está aburrido is from there too. Now here are five more words that mean different things with ser and with estar.
Why it matters: pick the wrong verb, and instead of "he's sick" you'll say "he's a bad person."
| with ser — in general | with estar — right now | |
|---|---|---|
| listo | es listo — smart, clever | está listo — ready |
| aburrido | es aburrido — boring | está aburrido — bored |
| malo | es malo — bad, mean | está malo — sick; about food: tastes bad, has gone bad |
| bueno | es bueno — good, kind | está bueno — about food: tasty, good |
| rico | es rico — rich | está rico — about food: delicious |
| seguro | es seguro — safe, reliable | está seguro — sure |
Examples:
- Mi compañero es muy listo, pero todavía no está listo para la reunión. — My coworker is very smart, but he isn't ready for the meeting yet.
- Hoy no voy a la oficina: estoy mala. — I'm not going to the office today: I'm sick (woman speaking).
- Este barrio es seguro. — This neighborhood is safe.
- ¿Estás segura de que es aquí? — Are you sure it's here? (to a woman)
- La tortilla está muy buena. ¡Qué rica! — The tortilla is really good. So tasty!
- El dueño del bar es rico. — The bar owner is rich.
Careful with estar bueno. About food, it's fine. But about a person, está bueno / está buena means "he's hot" / "she's hot". It's casual and a bit crude, so use it only with friends. About someone who has gotten over an illness, say ya está bien or ya está mejor.
Common mistake. In English, "I'm sure" and "he's ready" use the same verb "to be" as "he's tall", so it's tempting to use ser: ✗ soy segura, ✗ soy lista para salir. These describe how you are right now, not your personality, so you need estar: estoy segura, estoy lista.
Estar + past participle: the result — está cerrado, está roto
You know past participles from the present perfect: he cerrado, he roto (A2, units 2 and 3). With estar, the same participle doesn't name the action anymore. It names its result: what you see now.
- Alguien ha cerrado la tienda. — Someone has closed the store. (The action.)
- La tienda está cerrada. — The store is closed. (The result: you arrive, and the door is locked.)
Why it matters: this is what signs say, for example cerrado por vacaciones — closed for vacation. It's also how people talk about broken things and finished jobs: el ascensor está roto, la cena está hecha.
How to form it: estar + past participle. After haber, the participle never changes (he cerrado la puerta). After estar, it works like an adjective: it agrees with the thing in gender and number.
| one | several | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | el bar está cerrado | los bares están cerrados |
| feminine | la tienda está cerrada | las tiendas están cerradas |
Examples:
- El ascensor está roto otra vez. — The elevator is broken again.
- La cena ya está hecha. — Dinner is already made.
- Las ventanas están abiertas. — The windows are open.
- El informe está terminado y enviado. — The report is finished and sent.
- Ayer la farmacia estaba cerrada. — Yesterday the pharmacy was closed.
Irregular participles are the same as after haber: roto, hecho, abierto, escrito, puesto.
Common mistakes. The first one is saying ✗ la tienda es cerrada: "is closed" looks like "is", so it's tempting to use ser. The second one is forgetting the ending: ✗ la puerta está cerrado. A result you can see now takes estar, and the ending works like an adjective's: la puerta está cerrada.
Words in this unit
agradable — pleasant, nice
Mi compañera de piso es muy agradable. — My roommate (female) is very nice.
la personalidad — personality
Mi hermana tiene una personalidad fuerte. — My sister has a strong personality.
el humor — mood, humor
Hoy no estoy de humor para fiestas. — I'm not in the mood for parties today.
de buen humor — in a good mood
Hoy mi jefe está de buen humor. — My boss is in a good mood today.
de mal humor — in a bad mood
Cuando tengo hambre, estoy de mal humor. — When I'm hungry, I'm in a bad mood.
estado de ánimo — mood, state of mind
Mi estado de ánimo cambia mucho con el tiempo. — My mood changes a lot with the weather.
en general — in general, generally
En general, mis vecinos son simpáticos. — In general, my neighbors are nice.
general — general, overall
Mi impresión general es buena. — My overall impression is good.
tal — such; a certain
¿Qué tal es tu nuevo compañero? — What's your new coworker like?
atento — considerate, attentive
Nuestro vecino es muy atento. — Our neighbor is very considerate.
sociable — sociable, outgoing
Mi hermana es muy sociable. — My sister is very sociable.
generoso — generous
Mi abuela es muy generosa. — My grandmother is very generous.
hablador — talkative, chatty
Mi vecina es muy habladora. — My neighbor (female) is very talkative.
extrovertido — extroverted, outgoing
Mi novia es muy extrovertida. — My girlfriend is very extroverted.
introvertido — introverted, reserved
Mi compañero es un poco introvertido. — My coworker is a bit introverted.
optimista — optimistic
Mi madre es muy optimista. — My mom is very optimistic.
pesimista — pessimistic
Mi tío es muy pesimista. — My uncle is very pessimistic.
egoísta — selfish
No seas egoísta, comparte tu comida. — Don't be selfish, share your food.
vago — lazy
Mi hermano es un poco vago. — My brother is a bit lazy.
desordenado — messy, disorganized
Mi compañero de piso es muy desordenado. — My roommate is very messy.
sensible — sensitive
Mi hija es muy sensible. — My daughter is very sensitive.
sensato — sensible, reasonable
Mi hermana es muy sensata. — My sister is very sensible.
falso — fake, false, two-faced
Esa persona es muy falsa. — That person is very two-faced.
tacaño — stingy, cheap
Mi jefe es muy tacaño. — My boss is very stingy.
inmaduro — immature
Mi novio es un poco inmaduro. — My boyfriend is a bit immature.
cabezota — stubborn, pigheaded
Mi padre es muy cabezota. — My father is very stubborn.
estresado — stressed, stressed out
Estoy muy estresado con el trabajo. — I'm really stressed about work (man speaking).
el estrés — stress
Tengo mucho estrés en el trabajo. — I have a lot of stress at work.
relajado — relaxed, laid-back
Hoy estoy muy relajado. — I'm very relaxed today (man speaking).
relajarse — to relax
Después del trabajo me relajo con un libro. — After work, I relax with a book.
agobiado — overwhelmed, swamped
Estoy agobiada con tanto trabajo. — I'm overwhelmed with so much work (woman speaking).
agobiarse — to get overwhelmed, to stress out
Me agobio cuando tengo muchas cosas que hacer. — I get overwhelmed when I have a lot of things to do.
animado — lively, in good spirits, cheerful
Hoy estoy muy animada. — I'm in really good spirits today (woman speaking).
deprimido — depressed, down
Mi amigo está deprimido desde que perdió su trabajo. — My friend has been down since he lost his job.
la ilusión — excitement, looking forward; hope
Tengo mucha ilusión por este viaje. — I'm really looking forward to this trip.
ilusionado — excited, looking forward
Estoy muy ilusionado con el nuevo trabajo. — I'm really excited about the new job (man speaking).
comportarse — to behave
Los niños se comportan muy bien en el restaurante. — The kids behave very well at the restaurant.
el comportamiento — behavior
Su comportamiento es muy raro. — His behavior is very strange.
la actitud — attitude
Tiene una actitud muy positiva. — He has a very positive attitude.
la manía — quirk, odd habit
Mi padre tiene la manía de apagar todas las luces. — My dad has a thing about turning off all the lights.
estar hecho polvo — to be wiped out, to be crushed
Hoy estoy hecho polvo, no he dormido nada. — I'm wiped out today, I haven't slept at all (man speaking).
se me ha roto — it broke on me (by accident)
Se me ha roto el móvil. — My phone broke.
caer mal — to dislike (a person)
Tu jefe me cae mal. — I don't like your boss.
no es para tanto — it's not that bad, it's no big deal
No llores, mujer, no es para tanto. — Don't cry, it's not that bad.
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