VaneBeginner Spanish · A1
Ser in the present tense: soy, eres and es
Say who you are, where you're from, and what things are like.
I can use ser to talk about people.
Ser means "to be" for who someone is: names, where they're from, jobs and what they're like.
The forms
| Person | Ser | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo (I) | soy | Soy Sam. |
| tú (you) | eres | Eres de México. |
| él, ella (he, she) | es | Es profesora. |
| usted (you, polite) | es | ¿Es usted Pedro? |
| nosotros (we) | somos | Somos amigos. |
| ellos, ellas (they) | son | Son de Canadá. |
No pronoun needed
Spanish usually drops the words for I, you, he and she, because the verb already shows who it is.
Soy de España is enough. Yo soy de España adds emphasis: I'm from Spain.
Where you're from
SoydeCanadá
- Soy de Canadá.
- I'm from Canada.
When to use it
Use ser for
- Names: Soy Ana.
- Origin: Es de México.
- Jobs: Somos profesores.
- What something is like: Es grande.
Not for
- Age: use tener. Tengo 20 años.
- Feelings and places: use estar. Estoy en casa.
Examples with English meanings
- Soy Lucía.
- I'm Lucía.
- ¿De dónde eres?
- Where are you from?
- Pedro es de Valencia.
- Pedro is from Valencia.
- Somos de Estados Unidos.
- We're from the United States.
Common mistakes
Try this: Tengo veinte años.
Instead of:
Soy veinte años.Age uses tener, not ser.
Try this: Tú eres de México.
Instead of:
Tú es de México.With tú, ser becomes eres.