The verb seris one of thetwoSpanishverbs that mean "to be."The other one is the verbestar. The verbseris irregular, meaningit does not follow a commonconjugationpattern. In fact, ser is one of the most irregularly conjugated verbs in Spanish. Many of the conjugated forms don't even begin with s, and some forms are shared with the highly irregular verb ir (to go).
This article includestheser conjugations in the present, past, conditional and future indicative, the present and past subjunctive, the imperative, and other verb forms.
Using the Verb Ser
Serandestarare 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 someone's profession or occupation, as in Ella es doctora y él 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 reunión es en la oficina del doctor(The meeting is in the doctor's office).
This verb is also used to talk about belonging. For example, La casa es de Alberto (The house is Alberto's). Another use of the verbseris 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 someone's 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 años).
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. |
Tú | eres | You are | Tú eres muy lista. |
Usted/él/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. |
Tú | fuiste | You were | Tú fuiste muy lista. |
Usted/él/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 (ía 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. |
Tú | eras | You used to be | Tú eras muy lista. |
Usted/él/ella | era | You/he/she used to be | Ella era doctora. |
Nosotros | éramos | We used to be | Nosotros éramos 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 (é, ás, á, emos, áis, án).
Yo | seré | I will be | Yo seré estudiante en la universidad. |
Tú | serás | You will be | Tú serás muy lista. |
Usted/él/ella | será | You/he/she will be | Ella será doctora. |
Nosotros | seremos | We will be | Nosotros seremos buenos amigos. |
Vosotros | seréis | You will be | Vosotros seréismuy delgados. |
Ustedes/ellos/ellas | serán | You/theywill be | Ellos serán personas trabajadoras. |
Ser PeriphrasticFuture 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. |
Tú | vasa ser | You are going to be | Tú vasa ser muy lista. |
Usted/él/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 gerundor 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 | está siendo | She is being | Ella está 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 | sería | I will be | Yo sería estudiante en la universidad si me hubieran admitido. |
Tú | serías | You will be | Tú serías muy lista si estudiaras más. |
Usted/él/ella | sería | You/he/she will be | Ella sería doctora si no hubiera estudiado leyes. |
Nosotros | seríamos | We will be | Nosotros seríamos buenos amigos si viviéramos más cerca. |
Vosotros | seríais | You will be | Vosotros seríaismuy delgados si hicierais dieta. |
Ustedes/ellos/ellas | serían | You/theywill be | Ellos serían 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 tú | seas | That you be | A la maestra le encanta que tú seas muy lista. |
Que usted/él/ella | sea | That you/he/she be | Papá espera que ella sea doctora. |
Que nosotros | seamos | That we be | El consejero quiere que nosotros seamos buenos amigos. |
Que vosotros | seáis | That you be | El médico recomienda que vosotros seáismuy 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 | Mamá quería que yo fuera estudiante en la universidad. |
Que tú | fueras | That you were | A la maestra le encantaba que tú fueras muy lista. |
Que usted/él/ella | fuera | that you/he/she were | Papá esperaba que ella fuera doctora. |
Que nosotros | fuéramos | That we were | El consejero quería que nosotros fuéramos buenos amigos. |
Que vosotros | fuerais | That you were | El médico 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 | Mamá quería que yo fuese estudiante en la universidad. |
Que tú | fueses | That you were | A la maestra le encantaba que tú fueses muy lista. |
Que usted/él/ella | fuese | that you/he/she were | Papá esperaba que ella fuese doctora. |
Que nosotros | fuésemos | That we were | El consejero quería que nosotros fuésemos buenos amigos. |
Que vosotros | fueseis | That you were | El médico 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
Tú | sé | Be! | ¡Sé 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
Tú | 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 seáis | Don't be! | ¡No seáis muy delgados! |
Ustedes | no sean | Don't be! | ¡No sean personas trabajadoras! |
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Your Citation
Erichsen, Gerald. "Spanish Verb Ser Conjugation." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/conjugation-of-ser-3079641.Erichsen, Gerald. (2023, April 5). Spanish Verb Ser Conjugation. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/conjugation-of-ser-3079641Erichsen, Gerald. "Spanish Verb Ser Conjugation." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/conjugation-of-ser-3079641 (accessed July 14, 2024).
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