Knowing how to use and conjugate ser in all its forms will allow you to communicate with confidence about general unchangeable characteristics, occupations, relationships, and more.
With this guide, you’ll learn the irregular verb conjugations of ser in the present and past tenses, and may even be surprised to discover ser is conjugated as a regular verb in the future tense. Será (it will be) invaluable. There are also many examples of how ser is used in real life, because that’s how Rosetta Stone works—going beyond memorization and helping you learn to speak Spanish from day one.
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Mastering ser conjugation
Ser is often one of the first verbs you’ll learn because, much like the English “to be,” it is both commonly used and essential. It does not follow the rules or patterns of regular verbs most of the time, so you must learn all of its specific forms in a variety of Spanish verb tenses.
Common uses of ser
While there are two Spanish verbs that mean “to be,” ser is used for many common purposes. You may find the acronym “DOCTOR” to be helpful as you learn when to use ser.
D—definition: Explaining what something is identified as.
- Fue una novela antes de ser una película. = It was a novel before being a movie.
O—origin: Talking about where someone is from or their nationality.
- Ella es de los Estados Unidos. = She is from the United States.
C—characteristic: Describing the essential qualities of a person or thing.
- A veces es chistosa, pero también puede ser muy triste. = Sometimes it’s funny, but also it can be very sad.
T—time and date: Telling the time, the day, or the date.
- Son las cuatro. = It is four o’clock.
O—occupation or profession.
- Yo quiero ser presidente algún día. = I want to be president someday.
R—relationship: Introducing a family member, friend, or personal belonging.
- Ella es mi tía. = She is my aunt.
This list will help you differentiate between ser and estar (the other verb for “to be” in Spanish).
Why learn to conjugate ser?
In Spanish, verbs are conjugated, or changed, so the verb form matches the subject. This happens in English, too. For instance, English speakers instinctively know to say “I am” but “she is” and would never mix the two.
The same is true in Spanish. To follow Spanish grammar rules for speaking and writing correctly, you must learn the ser conjugation charts.
- Yo soy inteligente. = I am intelligent.
- Ella es inteligente. = She is intelligent.
- Tu eres inteligente. = You are intelligent.
In addition, Spanish has the tendency to drop subject pronouns because the verb form itself tells you who the subject is. This makes it especially important to know which verb forms match which subjects so that you can understand the sentence. The examples above would have the exact same meaning if the speaker were to omit the subject pronoun.
- Soy inteligente. = I am intelligent.
- Es inteligente. = She is intelligent.
- Eres inteligente. = You are intelligent.
Knowing correct ser conjugations can also help you speak with appropriate manners, as the usted vs. tú forms of ser vary depending on whether the situation is formal or casual.
Ser in the present tenses
It makes sense to start by learning the ser conjugation in the present tense. Unlike regular -ER verbs in Spanish, ser doesn’t follow a pattern. In the table, you’ll see there are six different forms.
| yo soy | I am | nosotros somos | we are |
| tú eres | you are (informal) | vosotros sois | you are (informal plural) |
| él/ella esusted es | he/she isyou are (formal) | ellos/ellas sonustedes son | they areyou are (plural) |
- Sí, soy alérgica a los mariscos. = Yes, I am allergic to seafood.
- ¿De dónde eres tú? = Where are you from?
- El arroz es blanco. = Rice is white.
- Nosotros somos maestros. = We are teachers.
- Vosotros sois de España. = You all are from Spain.
- Las muchachas son hermanas. = The girls are sisters.
Present progressive tense conjugation of ser
A less common way to use ser in the present time frame is in the present progressive tense. This would emphasize that something “is being” in the present moment.
It’s formed with the conjugated present tense of estar (the other verb that means “to be”) acting as an auxiliary or helper verb and the gerund of ser, which is siendo (being).
| yo estoy siendo | I am being | nosotros estamos siendo | we are being |
| tú estás siendo | you are being (informal) | vosotros estáis siendo | you are being (informal plural) |
| él/ella está siendousted está siendo | he/she is beingyou are being (formal) | ellos/ellas están siendoustedes están siendo | they are beingyou are being (plural) |
- Él está siendo muy generoso. = He is being very generous.
- Esta reunión está siendo grabada. = This meeting is being recorded.
- Estamos siendo abiertos a los cambios. = We are being open to the changes.
Ser in the past tenses
To use the English word “was,” or “used to be” you will need the correct ser conjugation in one of the past tenses in Spanish.
Preterite tense forms of ser
The preterite tense in Spanish is used to describe a state or situation in the past that is now complete. Note that the preterite conjugation of ser is identical to the preterite forms of ir (to go).
| yo fui | I was | nosotros fuimos | we were |
| tú fuiste | you were (informal) | vosotros fuisteis | you were (informal plural) |
| él/ella fueusted fue | he/she wasyou were (formal) | ellos/ellas fueronustedes fueron | they wereyou were (plural) |
- Yo fui fotógrafo por muchos años. = I was a photographer for many years.
- Habrías ganado la carrera, pero no fuiste el corredor más rápido. = You would have won the race, but you weren’t the fastest runner.
- Lo siento. Fue un error. = I’m sorry. It was a mistake.
- Fuimos las primeras jugadoras olímpicas de nuestro país. = We were the first olympic players from our country.
- Fuisteis estudiantes del mes. = You were the students of the month.
- Ayer fueron las elecciones. = The elections were yesterday.
Imperfect tense conjugation of ser
Use ser in the imperfect tense in Spanish to describe people and things in the past as background information.
- These are descriptive and ongoing relative to the time frame.
- English does not always distinguish between the preterite vs. imperfect like Spanish does. Sometimes the translation of “was/were” would be “used to be.”
- Ser is one of only three irregular verbs in the past, so you will need to learn the ser imperfect conjugation.
| yo era | I was | nosotros éramos | we were |
| tú eras | you were (informal) | vosotros erais | you were (informal plural) |
| él/ella erausted era | he/she wasyou were (formal) | ellos/ellas eranustedes eran | they wereyou were (plural) |
- Mi madre me dio este libro cuando yo era niña. = My mother gave me this book when I was a little girl.
- Yo te compré esto cuando eras bebé. = I bought you this when you were a baby.
- A mi padre le gustaban las ciencias. Él era médico en Italia. = My father used to like Science. He was a doctor in Italy.
- Nosotros éramos alumnas de la misma escuela primaria. = We used to be students in the same elementary school.
- Vosotros erais jóvenes. = You were young.
- Los calcetines eran blancos. = The socks used to be white.
Present perfect tense forms of ser
To say someone or something “has been,” use the present perfect. To conjugate the verb ser in the present perfect, begin with the present tense of the auxiliary verb haber (have/has as a helping verb) and add the past participle, which for ser is sido (been).
The present perfect is used often in Spain in place of the preterite tense to express events that have happened in the recent past.
| yo he sido | I was/have been | nosotros hemos sido | we were/have been |
| tú has sido | you were/have been (informal) | vosotros habéis sido | you were/have been (informal plural) |
| él/ella ha sidousted ha sido | he/she was/has beenyou were/have been (formal) | ellos/ellas han sidoustedes han sido | they were/have beenyou were/have been (plural) |
- He sido muy feliz. Mi vida ha sido larga e interesante. = I’ve been very happy. My life has been long and interesting.
- Siempre he vivido en la casa donde nací. Mi dirección siempre ha sido la misma. = I’ve always lived in the house where I was born. My address has always been the same.
Ser in the future tense
The expression qué será será (what will be will be) is a great way to remember the third person singular form of ser in the future tense. Use the future tense to talk about what or how something will be.
Ser conjugation follows regular verb patterns in the future tense, where the stem is the entire infinitive plus the future endings. Many of the endings include an accent which you will emphasize while speaking.
| yo seré | I will be | nosotros seremos | we will be |
| tú serás | you will be (informal) | vosotros seréis | you will be (informal plural) |
| él/ella seráusted será | he/she will be you will be (formal) | ellos/ellas seránustedes serán | they will be you will be (plural) |
- Algún día seré gerente. = Someday I will be the manager.
- Algún día serás alto. = Someday you will be tall.
- En el futuro, será un árbol grande. = In the future, it will be a big tree.
- Es peligrosa, pero seremos cuidadosos. = It’s dangerous, but we will be careful.
Another way to express future ideas, especially in casual speech or for events that will take place in the near future, is to use the structure ir + a + infinitive.
| yo voy a ser | I am going to be | nosotros vamos a ser | we are going to be |
| tú vas a ser | you are going to be (informal) | vosotros vais a ser | you are going to be (informal plural) |
| él/ella va a serusted va a ser | he/she is going to beyou are going to be (formal) | ellos/ellas van a serustedes van a ser | they are going to beyou are going to be (plural) |
- Va a ser una fiesta de cumpleaños. = It is going to be a birthday party.
- Estas botellas van a ser recicladas. = These bottles are going to be recycled.
Ser in the conditional
Ser is a regular verb in the conditional mood in Spanish. Use the entire infinitive ser as the stem and add the endings of the imperfect tense for -ER and -IR verbs. These forms of ser translate to “would be” in English.
| yo sería | I would be | nosotros seríamos | we would be |
| tú serías | you would be (informal) | vosotros seríais | you would be (informal plural) |
| él/ella seríausted sería | he/she would be you would be (formal) | ellos/ellas seríanustedes serían | they would be you would be (plural) |
- Sería divertido ir al parque. = It would be fun to go to the park.
- Ella sería una buena maestra. = She would be a good teacher.
When not to use ser
Sometimes there is more than one way in Spanish to express the same English word. For example, there are two verbs that mean “to know,” saber vs. conocer. Learning the other verbs that can express “to be” would be a great next step, specifically to help you understand when not to use ser. In some cases, estar or tener will be used instead.
Ser vs. estar
As discussed, Spanish, like some other Romance languages, uses two different verbs for “to be.” The other “to be” is estar. It’s used for expressing position, location, actions in progress, changeable conditions, and emotions.
These two verbs for “to be” are not interchangeable, and sometimes using the wrong one can even change the meaning of the sentence. Compare the following:
- Ser: Yo soy lista. = I am clever.
- Estar: Yo estoy lista. = I am ready.
Estar (to be) is often conjugated differently from other -AR verbs. Learners at every level can benefit from studying the specific differences between ser vs. estar.
Ser vs. tener
In English we use the verb “to be” to express age and physical feelings, but there is a group of phrases that require tener (to have) in Spanish. Among these are:
- Tener # años = to be # years old (to have # years)
- Tener calor = to be hot (to have heat)
- Tener frío = to be cold (to have cold)
- Tener hambre = to be hungry (to have hunger)
- Tener sed = to be thirsty (to have thirst)
Tener (to have) conjugation has its own irregular patterns in many tenses as well.
Key takeaways for using ser
Ser is a common verb used in many circumstances, so it’s worthwhile to focus on this verb.
- Use ser to express time and date, to define objects and relationships, and to describe essential qualities.
- Ser is irregular in many tenses, so it is important to learn its unique conjugation forms.
- There are other ways to say “to be” in Spanish, including estar and sometimes tener.
Using an immersion method like Rosetta Stone can show you the verb in context and make important connections.
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