El verbo ser

The verb ser means to be. Just as the be verb in English (I am, you are, he/she is…), the verb ser is very irregular in all tenses. Therefore, it is important that you memorize it! You need to change the verb depending on the subject  like the example below, this is an example of conjugating.

Examples of conjugating with singular subjects:

• Yo soy: I am
• Tú eres: You are
• él es / ella es / usted es: He is / she is / you (formal) are

Examples of conjugating with plural subjects:

• nosotros somos: We are
• vosotros sois*: You are
• ellos son / ellas son / ustedes son: They are / They (feminine) are / You all are

ser (to be)
singular	plural
yo soy	nosotros somos
tú eres	vosotros sois*
él es / ella es / usted es	ellos son / ellas son / ustedes son

* This form is only used in Spain. The Latin American equivalent is ustedes son

Using ser

Up to this point, you have seen ser used in the following ways:

• to identify someone/something
  • Yo soy Manuel.
  • Es mi cuaderno.
• to ask or say where someone is from
  • A: ¿De dónde son ustedes?
  • B: Nosotros somos de los Estados Unidos.
• To ask and say your profession
  • A: ¿Eres profesor?
  • B: No, yo soy estudiante.

You may also have seen ser used to describe something or someone. We’ll cover this in the next unit!

• El cuaderno es rojo.
• La profesora es inteligente.