Ser Conjugation in Spanish, Translation, Examples

The verb ser  is one of the  two  Spanish  verbs that mean to be.  The other one is the verb  estar. The verb  ser  is irregular, meaning  it does not follow a common  conjugation  pattern. In fact, ser is one of the most irregularly conjugated verbs in Spanish. Many of the conjugated forms dont even begin with s, and some forms are shared with the highly irregular verb ir (to go). This article includes  the  ser conjugations in the present, past, conditional and future indicative, the present and past subjunctive, the imperative, and other verb forms. Using the Verb Ser Ser  and  estar  are some of the most commonly used verbs in Spanish. Although they both mean to be, they are used in very different contexts. Ser is often used to talk about inherent or permanent characteristics. For example,  Ella es alta e inteligente (She is tall and smart). It is also used to talk about someones profession or occupation, as in Ella es doctora y à ©l es arquitecto (She is a doctor and he is an engineer), or to talk about where someone is from, as in El profesor es de Puerto Rico (The professor is from Puerto Rico). Ser can be used to talk about what something is made of, as in La puerta es de madera (The door is made of wood), or to talk about the location of an event, such as a meeting, party, festival, etc. For example,  La reunià ³n es en la oficina del doctor  (The meeting is in the doctors office). This verb is also used to talk about belonging. For example, La casa es de Alberto (The house is Albertos). Another use of the verb  ser  is in the passive voice, followed by the present participle, as in La tarea es hecha por el estudiante (The homework is done by the student). Yet another use of the verb ser is with impersonal expressions, such as Es necesario trabajar duro (It is necessary to work hard). Notice that in Spanish we do not use the verb ser to talk about someones age like we do in English (She is ten years old), but instead we use the verb tener to talk about how many years someone has (Ella tiene diez aà ±os). Ser Present Indicative The conjugations for ser in the present indicative tense are totally irregular. The first person singular conjugation soy is similar to other verbs like dar (doy), estar (estoy) and ir (voy). Yo soy I am Yo soy estudiante en la universidad. Tà º eres You are Tà º eres muy lista. Usted/à ©l/ella es You/he/she is Ella es doctora. Nosotros somos We are Nosotros somos buenos amigos. Vosotros sois You are Vosotros sois muy delgados. Ustedes/ellos/ellas son You/they are Ellos son personas trabajadoras. Ser Preterite Indicative The preterite tense conjugations of ser are also irregular, since they do not resemble the infinitive ser at all. Note that these conjugations are the exact same conjugations for the preterite indicative tense of the verb ir (to go). From context, you would be able to tell if you are talking about being or going. Yo fui I was Yo fui estudiante en la universidad. Tà º fuiste You were Tà º fuiste muy lista. Usted/à ©l/ella fue You/he/she was Ella fue doctora. Nosotros fuimos We were Nosotros fuimos buenos amigos. Vosotros fuisteis You were Vosotros fuisteis muy delgados. Ustedes/ellos/ellas fueron You/they were Ellos fueron personas trabajadoras. Ser Imperfect Indicative Ser is one of the few verbs that are irregular in the imperfect tense, since it does not use either of the usual imperfect conjugation endings (à ­a or aba). Remember that the imperfect tense can be translated as was being or used to be. Yo era I used to be Yo era estudiante en la universidad. Tà º eras You used to be Tà º eras muy lista. Usted/à ©l/ella era You/he/she used to be Ella era doctora. Nosotros à ©ramos We used to be Nosotros à ©ramos buenos amigos. Vosotros erais You used to be Vosotros eraismuy delgados. Ustedes/ellos/ellas eran You/they used to be Ellos eran personas trabajadoras. Ser Future Indicative The future indicative tense is conjugated regularly, since you can start with the infinitive (ser) and add the future tense endings (à ©, à ¡s, à ¡, emos, à ¡is, à ¡n). Yo serà © I will be Yo serà © estudiante en la universidad. Tà º serà ¡s You will be Tà º serà ¡s muy lista. Usted/à ©l/ella serà ¡ You/he/she will be Ella serà ¡ doctora. Nosotros seremos We will be Nosotros seremos buenos amigos. Vosotros serà ©is You will be Vosotros serà ©ismuy delgados. Ustedes/ellos/ellas serà ¡n You/theywill be Ellos serà ¡n personas trabajadoras. Ser Periphrastic  Future Indicative   The periphrastic future is formed with three components: the present indicative conjugation of the verb ir (to go), the preposition a, and the infinitive ser. Yo voy a ser I am going to be Yo voya ser estudiante en la universidad. Tà º vasa ser You are going to be Tà º vasa ser muy lista. Usted/à ©l/ella vaa ser You/he/she are going to be Ella vaa ser doctora. Nosotros vamosa ser We are going tobe Nosotros vamosa ser buenos amigos. Vosotros vaisa ser You are going tobe Vosotros vaisa ser muy delgados. Ustedes/ellos/ellas vana ser You/theyare going tobe Ellos vana ser personas trabajadoras. Ser Present Progressive/Gerund Form The gerund  or present participle is formed with the stem of the verb and the ending -iendo (for -er and -ir verbs). It can be used to form progressive tenses like the present progressive, which is usually accompanied by the auxiliary verb estar. Present Progressive ofSer està ¡ siendo She is being Ella està ¡ siendo una buena doctora al cuidar de sus pacientes. Ser Past Participle The past participle is used to form perfect tenses like the present perfect, which is formed with the auxiliary verb haber and the past participle sido. Present Perfect ofSer ha sido She has been Ella ha sido doctora durante toda su carrera. Ser Conditional Indicative The conditional tense is normally translated to English as would verb. It is formed regularly like the future tense, by starting with the infinitive form and adding the conditional endings. Yo serà ­a I will be Yo serà ­a estudiante en la universidad si me hubieran admitido. Tà º serà ­as You will be Tà º serà ­as muy lista si estudiaras mà ¡s. Usted/à ©l/ella serà ­a You/he/she will be Ella serà ­a doctora si no hubiera estudiado leyes. Nosotros serà ­amos We will be Nosotros serà ­amos buenos amigos si vivià ©ramos mà ¡s cerca. Vosotros serà ­ais You will be Vosotros serà ­aismuy delgados si hicierais dieta. Ustedes/ellos/ellas serà ­an You/theywill be Ellos serà ­an personas trabajadoras si quisieran. Ser Present Subjunctive The conjugation of the present subjunctive of ser is completely irregular. Que yo sea That I be Mi madre quiere que yo sea estudiante en la universidad. Que tà º seas That you be A la maestra le encanta que tà º seas muy lista. Que usted/à ©l/ella sea That you/he/she be Papà ¡ espera que ella sea doctora. Que nosotros seamos That we be El consejero quiere que nosotros seamos buenos amigos. Que vosotros seà ¡is That you be El mà ©dico recomienda que vosotros seà ¡ismuy delgados. Que ustedes/ellos/ellas sean That you/they be El jefe espera que ellos sean personas trabajadoras. Ser Imperfect Subjunctive You can conjugate the imperfect subjunctive in two different ways, both considered correct. Option 1 Que yo fuera That I were Mamà ¡ querà ­a que yo fuera estudiante en la universidad. Que tà º fueras That you were A la maestra le encantaba que tà º fueras muy lista. Que usted/à ©l/ella fuera that you/he/she were Papà ¡ esperaba que ella fuera doctora. Que nosotros fuà ©ramos That we were El consejero querà ­a que nosotros fuà ©ramos buenos amigos. Que vosotros fuerais That you were El mà ©dico recomendaba que vosotros fuerais muy delgados. Que ustedes/ellos/ellas fueran That you/they were El jefe esperaba que ellos fueran personas trabajadoras. Option 2 Que yo fuese That I were Mamà ¡ querà ­a que yo fuese estudiante en la universidad. Que tà º fueses That you were A la maestra le encantaba que tà º fueses muy lista. Que usted/à ©l/ella fuese that you/he/she were Papà ¡ esperaba que ella fuese doctora. Que nosotros fuà ©semos That we were El consejero querà ­a que nosotros fuà ©semos buenos amigos. Que vosotros fueseis That you were El mà ©dico recomendaba que vosotros fueseis muy delgados. Que ustedes/ellos/ellas fuesen That you/they were El jefe esperaba que ellos fuesen personas trabajadoras. Ser Imperative The imperative mood is used to give commands or orders. The tables below show both positive and negative commands. Positive commands Tà º sà © Be!  ¡Sà © muy lista! Usted sea Be!  ¡Sea doctora! Nosotros seamos Let's be!  ¡Seamos buenos amigos! Vosotros sed Be!  ¡Sed muy delgados! Ustedes sean Be!  ¡Sean personas trabajadoras! Negative commands Tà º no seas Don't be!  ¡No seas muy lista! Usted no sea Don't be!  ¡No sea doctora! Nosotros no seamos Let's not be!  ¡No seamos buenos amigos! Vosotros no seà ¡is Don't be!  ¡No seà ¡is muy delgados! Ustedes no sean Don't be!  ¡No sean personas trabajadoras!