Verb To be (Ser)

No matter how much you try, we come back to the verb to be (Ser). In past posts, I have used the verb Serto tell the time and in the singular form only. This post will discuss a more detailed aspects of the verb To be (Ser).

WHAT CAN YOU EXPRESS WITH THE VERB TO BE (Ser)?

1.  who someone or something is,
2. what something is made of.
3. whom something is for.

SER (To Be)
yo               soy                    I am	nosotros/as         somos    we are
tú                eres                  you are	vosotros/as         sois          you are
él                 es                     he is	Ellos                     son            they are
Ella              es                    she is	Ellas                     son            they are
usted           es                   you are	Ustedes               son           they are

Uses of ser

1. Ser is used to identify people and things. Here are some examples of what it is meant:

   Yo soy estudiante. (I'm a student).

    Carlos y yo somos amigos. (Carlos y yo are friends). Here note that when you have a noun + yo

                         use the nosotros/nosotras form of the verb. As a result, I can say instead of Carlos y yo:

     Nosotros somos amigos.

     If, we were to use another sentence like: Ella y yo somos amigas. Then the same will be true for the use of the verb form of nosotros to say the same thing (pronoun + yo= nosotras/nosotros). Nosotras somos amigas.

    

    

  El Doctor Ramirez es profesor. (Dr. Ramirez is a profesor). Notice that in here we do not use el in front of undescribed noun of profession.

Esto es un libro. (This is a book).

2. Ser is used to express nationality; ser + de is used to express national origin. Let's see some examples of nationality:

Pedro es peruano. (Pedro is Peruvian).

Carolina es Venezolana.(Carolina is Venezuelan).

Iari es brasileña. (Iari is Brazilian).

 Now, let's see some examples of how we use ser+de (from) to express national origin:

John y Mary son de los Estados Unidos.  (John and Mary are fron the United States).

El mesonero es de Cuarnavaca.  (The Waiter is from Cuarnavaca).

3. Ser + de  is also used to tell of what material something is made.

La mesa es de madera. ( The table is wood). Literally: The table is made of wood.

El carro es de metal.      (The car is metal). Literally: The car is made of metal.

4. Ser + para is used to tell for who something is intended.

    La comida es para Andrés. ( The food is for Andrés)

    El regalo es para Sonia. (The gift is for Sonia.)

5. Ser is used to tell the time.

Es la una de la mañana. (It's one o'clock in the morning.)

Es la una de la tarde. (It's one o'clock in the afternoon.)

Son las tres de la tarde. (It's three o'clock in the afternoon.)

6. To express generalizations, we use es (third-person singular of ser). Note: the infinitive ( it's underlined) after the impersonal expressions.

   

    Es necesario trabajar todos los días para vivir en los Estados Unidos.

    ( It's necessary to work everyday to live in the United States.)

    Es importante estudiar. (It's important to study).

Now, practice using the verb Ser in writing so when the audio/visual addition comes you are ready and familiar with the material.

Some of the things you can do is identify people and what they do for a living. An example of this would be:

¿Quién es estudiante? Who is student?

Maria_____ estudiante.

Yo_______ estudiante.

Juan y Elena_____ estudiante.

Vosotros_______ estudiantes.

Ustedes _______ estudiantes.

¿De dónde son? Where are you from?

EX: Dietrich ________Alemania.

Regis Durette ________ 

Maria Aguirre_________

Juan Soto____________

Maria Guadalupe Sánchez__________

Giusepe Lazzarino___________

Robin Windsor______________

México, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, España, Francia (France), Italia (Italy), Alemania (Germany) , Inglaterra (England)

¿De qué son estos objetos? (What are these objects made of?)

¿de metal? (of metal?)

¿de madera? (of wood?)

¿de papel? (of paper?)

¿de plástico? (of plastic)

1. la mesa (table)

2. el dinero (money)

3.el carro/ coche (car)

4.el libro (car)

5.el bolígrafo (Pen)

¿Para quién son estas cosas? (For whom are this things?)

Ex:    Los zapatos/ mi hija.(my daughter)   

         Los zapatos son para mi hija.

1. La fiesta/Carlos

2.El regalo/Juan

3.El carro/mi hermano

4.El libro/mi primo

¿Qué hora es?

11:00 A.M.

1:45 P.M.

7:30 P.M.

3:10 A.M.

1:00 P.M.

Remember that  you do not have to overuse yo in order to make yourself understood. Let's say I wnat to say something about me:

Yo soy Elena. Soy de ______. 

Now, I would like to find about you by asking: 

¿ Quién eres tu?( informal) (Who are you?

¿ Quién es usted? (formal)