A1 · Being and having
ser or estar
« The soup is cold » is either a recipe or a complaint, and here you have to say which.
The short rule: ser for what makes something what it is, estar for how it happens to be. That carries nine cases out of ten.
The tenth is the interesting one. With many adjectives <b>both</b> are possible and they mean different things. É bonita is « she is pretty »; está bonita is « she is looking good today ».
A few words change meaning outright: ser aborrecido is boring, estar aborrecido is annoyed. Ser pronto is quick off the mark, estar pronto is ready.
When in doubt, ask yourself: am I describing the thing, or the moment? English asks neither question, which is why the choice has to be made deliberately for a long time before it stops being a decision.
Die Form
| origin, job, character, the time | ser |
| state, place, mood, weather | estar |
| she is pretty | é bonita |
| she is looking good today | está bonita |
| he is boring | é aborrecido |
| he is annoyed | está aborrecido |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
If it describes the thing, use ser.
O gelo é frio.Ice is cold.
If it describes the moment, use estar.
O café está frio.The coffee has gone cold.
With some adjectives the meaning changes outright.
O filme é aborrecido.The film is boring.
The time of day always takes ser.
É uma hora.It is one o'clock.
Woran man es erkennt
- é
- está
- são
- estão
Beispielsätze
A sopa é boa, mas está fria.The soup is good, but it has gone cold.
Ele é calmo, mas hoje está nervoso.He is a calm man, but today he is on edge.
A porta é de madeira e está aberta.The door is wooden and it is open.
És português? — Sou, mas estou a viver na Alemanha.Are you Portuguese? — I am, but I am living in Germany.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
At a table the choice decides how polite you are being. A sopa é fria says this soup is a cold soup — a dish meant to arrive that way. A sopa está fria says it has gone cold, and that is a complaint. English says « the soup is cold » for both and lets the tone of voice carry the rest; here the tone is inside the verb, and there is no neutral option to fall back on.
The thing with ser, the moment with estar.
Jetzt selbst
5 Aufgaben zu diesem Thema. Die Antworten werden im Browser geprüft; nichts davon verlässt Ihr Gerät.