Quote:
Originally Posted by sosia
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Permanent and
non permanent is not a clear way at all to explain the difference between SER and ESTAR.
Por ejemplo:
- Está muerto (permanente).
- Estoy soltero (provisional).
- Madrid está en España (permanente)
- Estoy en casa (provisional).
- Está acabado (permanente).
- Soy joven (provisional).
- Es de madera (permanente).
- Somos novios (provisional).
- Soy madrileño (permanente).
- Soy electricista (provisional).
You are lucky you can better think from the beginning about SER and ESTAR as different translations of TO BE that can
only be followed by different phrases.
There is not a definitive rule about this, but a list of the most important usages:
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT USAGES OF
SER:
- Identificación de personas y cosas: Es Pedro; es un libro.
- Profesiones: Soy arquitecto.
- Cualidades morales: es simpático y agradable.
- Características físicas de personas y cosas: es bajito; es de color verde.
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT USAGES OF
ESTAR:
- Ubicación geográfica: estoy en Madrid.
- Estado anímico: estoy cansado.
The above usages are the basics. You could be in the higher lever of Spanish and still be wondering why this usages doesn't fit a rule. Don't be afraid of that. It's easier than it seems if you think about it as different combinations. Some of them are right, some of them are not.
