To be or to be …
To be or to be – that is the question
Yes, you heard me right, to be or to be
Is the question. I’m in a sea of troubles
In my mind I suffer. To be is the verb
We use the most in English or Spanish.
Not to die or to sleep. Every time I say
Am, is, are, were, I am using “to be”.
But in Spanish, they have two different to be’s
Ser and Estar, which one do I need to use?
To say “I am”, it’s either soy or estoy
So here are 3 rules to help you decide:
First, when something’s permanent, you use “ser”
Description, nationality, profession
Are permanent traits, so then use ser
Soy canadiense, I am Canadian
Soy profesora, I am a teacher
Soy una mujer, I am a woman
Second, when something is temporary, it’s estar
Cómo estás? Estoy bien o contenta
How are you? I am well or happy
Third, if you’re talking about location
Then you will always want to use “estar”
Estoy en Vancouver, I’m in Vancouver
Estoy en el mercado, I’m at the market
But it gets complicated, in some cases
You can use both, but with different meaning
If I say soy feliz, I’m a happy person
But estoy feliz means I’m happy right now
Es lista, she is smart; esta lista, she’s ready
And if you’re totally confused, don’t take your life
Just use “ser”, it’s used more often than estar.