Month: November 2023

¿Ser o estar? That is the question.

As you may already know, in Spanish there are two verbs that translate as “to be”, and knowing which to choose in each situation can be one of the biggest challenges for Spanish learners.

The Coffee Break Spanish Show is a podcast series of short, informal conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in Spanish. In the latest episode, Mark and Concha help us to better understand these two verbs and decide in which moments to use ser and when to choose estar.

Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?

Identity and circumstance

It is often taught that ser is used to describe something that is permanent and estar is for something that is temporary. In the episode, Concha proposes a different way to think about this:

ser – identity (as opposed to permanent)
estar – circumstance (as opposed to temporary)

Ser

Let’s look at the following description of Concha’s cousin and consider why we use ser in this situation:

Mi prima es española, es rubia, es guapa y es estudiante.
My cousin is Spanish, blonde, pretty and she’s a student.

Here, ser is used because we are identifying Concha’s cousin. Not only are we describing her nationality (es española) and her physical traits (es rubia, es guapa), but we are also saying what she does (es estudiante). It’s like playing ‘Guess who?’.

However, let’s focus on es estudiante, because here is where things get interesting. At the time we are describing Concha’s cousin, she is a student, but she will become a lawyer in a couple of years. Entonces, if it’s not something permanent, ¿por qué usamos ser? Well, we use ser because at the time of the description, she identifies herself as a student – she is not a lawyer yet!

This is a great example of why saying that ser is ‘identity’ can sometimes be a more useful way of thinking about it than ‘permanent’.

Estar

Another example will help us here, so that we can compare ser with estar. Let’s imagine Mark has a friend called Roberta, and he tells us:

Roberta es alta, es rubia y es simpática.
Roberta is tall, blonde and friendly.

Let’s say the same Roberta decided to change her hair, and when Concha saw her for the first time, she was not very friendly with her. Then, Concha would tell us:

Roberta es alta, es pelirroja y es antipática.
Roberta is tall, red-haired and unfriendly.

Mark saw her that very same day, but his description would be:

Roberta es alta, está pelirroja y está antipática.
Roberta is tall, red-haired and unfriendly.

As we can see, Mark has changed ser for estar. He says está pelirroja because he knows she used to be blonde, and he says está antipática because Roberta is a nice person, but that day she wasn’t as nice as usual.

These two changes in the verb are because the circumstances have changed for Mark (but not for Concha) and now Roberta has red hair and is unfriendly.

We can clearly see this contrast in these sentences:

El cielo es azul pero hoy está gris.
The sky is blue but today it’s grey.

La sala es grande y hoy está llena.
The room is big but today it’s full.

You might notice that hoy (“today”) helps to show that the meaning of something is circumstantial and may change.

¡Hora de practicar!

Now it’s time to test yourself! ¡Vamos a ponernos a prueba! Translate the following sentences into Spanish. You’ll find the answers at the end of the article. ¡Mucha suerte!

1. Pedro is a healthy boy, but today he is sick.
2. Normally, you are serious, but today you are funny. (Use either tú or usted.)

We hope that you found this article useful. Make sure to listen to the full episode with Mark and Concha on The Coffee Break Spanish Show. In our next episode, we’ll be continuing with this topic and we’ll be exploring situations in which the choice of ser or estar changes the meaning of a phrase. Subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube so that you know when the next episode is available.

Plus! To get regular free Spanish lessons in your inbox, you can sign up for our short (coffee-break-sized) email lessons that will help you improve your Spanish. You will also hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, giving advice for language learners at any level. Sign up below!

Keep practising using ser and estar, and whenever you’re unsure which to use, just think about whether it’s a question of identity or circumstance.

Happy Coffee Breaking!

PS. Here are the answers to the translation challenge.

1. Pedro is a healthy boy, but today he is sick. – Pedro es un chico sano pero hoy está enfermo.
2. Normally, you are serious, but today you are funny. – Normalmente, eres serio, pero hoy estás gracioso. / Normalmente, es serio, pero hoy está gracioso.

Listen to the podcast

When it comes to Spanish pronunciation, some aspects of it are relatively easy to get your head around. However, at times, things can get a little tricky when it comes to knowing which syllable to stress when pronouncing a word in Spanish.

Like in English, the stress of words is not always on the same syllable. On top of this, what happens with the accents when written? Have you ever wondered why some words have an accent on the stressed vowel and why other words don’t?

The Coffee Break Spanish Show is a podcast series of short, informal conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in Spanish. In the latest episode, Mark and Concha look at where the stress can be in a Spanish word and learn when to use accent marks on vowels.

Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?

To make this easier, we can divide all Spanish words into four categories, depending on which syllable of a word is stressed.

1 – aguda

When a word has the stress on the final syllable, it is called aguda. Agudas have an accent on the vowel of the final syllable when the word ends in -n, -s or a vowel. Here are some examples of agudas:

mujer
woman
The stress is muJER, but there’s no accent because it ends in -r.

ajedrez
chess
The stress is ajeDREZ, but there’s no accent because the word ends in -z.

televisión
television
The stress is televiSIÓN, and there’s an accent because it ends in -n.

interés
interest
The stress is inteRÉS, and there’s an accent because it ends in -s.

café
coffee
The stress is caFÉ, and there’s an accent because it ends in a vowel.

2 – llana

When a word has the stress on the second-last syllable, it is called llana. Llanas have an accent on the penultimate syllable when the word doesn’t end in -n, -s or a vowel. Here are some examples:

volumen
volume
The stress is voLUmen, and there’s no accent because the word ends in -n.

estatuas
statues
The stress is esTAtuas, and there’s no accent because the word ends in -s.

caja
box
The stress is CAja, and there’s no accent because the word ends in a vowel.

dólar
dollar
The stress is DÓlar, and there’s an accent because the word ends in -r.

móvil
mobile
The stress is MÓvil, and there’s an accent because the word ends in -l.

3 – esdrújula

When a word is stressed in the third-to-last syllable, it is called esdrújula. Esdrújulas always have an accent showing the stressed syllable. Here are some examples:

música
music
The stress is MÚsica.

América
America
The stress is aMÉrica.

miércoles
Wednesday
The stress is MIÉRcoles.

¡Cuidado! Sometimes, forming the plural of a word can add another syllable, making the word require an accent when before it didn’t need one.

Here’s an example:

examen
exam
The stress is eXAmen, so it’s llana and it doesn’t have an accent because it ends in -n.

exámenes
exams
The stress is eXÁmenes, so it’s esdrújula and so it does have an accent.

Something similar happens with an infinitive form of the verb when we use more than one pronoun:

dártelo (dar + te + lo)
to give it to you

4 – sobresdrújula

Occasionally, we are going to find words that are stressed on the fourth-to-last syllable. This type of stress is called sobresdrújula. These types of words always have an accent mark and they are often found in verbs with pronouns. For example:

devuélvemelo (devolver in the imperative form + me + lo)
give it back to me

comprándotelo (comprar in the gerund form + te + lo)
buying it for you

The other situation where we find this stress pattern is in adverbs ending in -mente. When forming adverbs in -mente, the adjective retains the same accented syllable as before and so we don’t ever need to add or take away an accent when written. So, that’s why we have:

fácilmente (fácil + mente)
easily

difícilmente (difícil + mente)
with difficulty

lentamente (lento + mente)
slowly

¡Un consejo! With a very long word, we recommend practising by splitting it into chunks of two or three syllables and saying them out loud individually until you can combine them. Por ejemplo:

devuélvemelo > devuelve-melo

comprándotelo > comprando-telo

¡Hora de practicar!

Now it’s time to put your knowledge to the test! Translate the following phrases into Spanish. Think carefully about where to place any accents and which syllable to stress when saying each word out loud. You’ll find the answers at the end of this article.

1. immediately
2. write it (la carta) to me
3. say it (el mensaje) to him

We hope that you found this article useful. Make sure to listen to the full episode with Mark and Concha on The Coffee Break Spanish Show. This is the series in which we look at a range of topics for Spanish learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube.

Plus! To get regular free Spanish lessons in your inbox, you can sign up for our short (coffee-break-sized) email lessons that will help you improve your Spanish. You will also hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, giving advice for language learners at any level. Sign up below!

Scroll down for the answers to the translation challenge. Next time you read a Spanish text pay special attention to the accents and ask yourself: is it aguda, llana, esdrújula or sobresdrújula?

Happy Coffee Breaking!

PS. Here are the answers to the translation challenge.

1. inmediatamente (inmediata + mente)
   The adjective inmediato/a is llana ending in a vowel, so there’s no accent.
2. escríbemela (escribe + me + la)
3. dímelo (di + me + lo)

Listen to the podcast

Spanish is a very flexible language, in the sense that we can often move things around in the sentence and change the word order. However, sometimes a different word order can result in a difference in emphasis or in meaning.

This is especially important to remember with some adverbs.

The Coffee Break Spanish Show is a podcast series of short, informal conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in Spanish. In the latest episode, Mark and Anabel talk about where you can place adverbs in your sentences when you are speaking Spanish and how it affects what you are saying.

Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?

What is an adverb?

First of all, let’s refresh our memory. What are adverbs and how do we use them?

Adverbs are words that modify verbs (and occasionally adjectives and other adverbs). Some examples are:

muy
very

simplemente
simply

siempre
always

a veces
sometimes

fácilmente
easily

Adverbs of quantity and manner

Adverbs of quantity and manner usually go after the verb. Let’s look at some examples:

Me gusta mucho.
I like it a lot.
(Mucho is an adverb of quantity.)

Hablas bien español.
You speak Spanish well.
(Bien is an adverb of manner.)

In certain cases, you could use the adverb before the verb, but this results in a strong emphasis. For example:

Me gustan mucho los cacahuetes, pero mucho me gustan.
I like peanuts a lot – I really like them.

Some adverbs that go with a direct object could have three different placements:

Leo un libro despacio.
Leo despacio un libro.
Despacio leo un libro.
I read a book slowly.

¡Ojo! All three versions mean “I read a book slowly”, but the third one places more emphasis on the fact that we are reading the book slowly (rather than quickly). When this adverb placement is used it gives dramatic effect.

It’s also important to keep in mind that if you’re placing an adverb before the verb, it has to come before any auxiliary verb or pronoun used with the verb. An adverb cannot go between an auxiliary verb and a past participle, or between an object pronoun and a conjugated verb, for example. Let’s see the following examples:

Despacio lo leo.
I read it slowly.

Despacio he leído.
I have read slowly.

Despacio lo he leído.
I have read it slowly.

Adverbs of place and frequency

Adverbs of place and frequency – such as a veces (“sometimes”), frecuentemente (“frequently”) and cerca (“nearby”) – also allow you to use the adverb in the same three places. Here are some examples:

Allí vi a Juan.
Vi allí a Juan.
Vi a Juan allí.
I saw Juan there.

Siempre ve la tele.
Ve siempre la tele.
Ve la tele siempre.
He always watches TV.

Adverbs of time

Adverbs or phrases of time – such as hoy (“today”), esta mañana (“this morning”) and el verano pasado (“last summer”) – have a fourth placement option, as they can also go at the beginning of the sentence. For example:

Ayer Rafa ganó el campeonato.
Rafa ayer ganó el campeonato.
Rafa ganó ayer el campeonato.
Rafa ganó el campeonato ayer.
Yesterday, Rafa won the competition.

Let’s practise!

Now, how could we say “I quickly finished my breakfast” in Spanish? Try to write down all the possible options and we’ll tell you the answers at the end of this article.

If you want an extra challenge, also try writing down all the possible options if you translate the sentence using the perfect tense (i.e. he terminado) in Spanish.

¿Lo aprendiste rápidamente?

Listen out for native speakers using adverbs in conversation and on TV and see if you can notice how the meaning subtly changes depending on the placement. The more exposure you have to the language, the more natural things like adverb placement will feel when you are speaking Spanish.

If you found this post interesting, make sure to listen to the full episode with Mark and Anabel on The Coffee Break Spanish Show. This is the series in which we look at a range of topics for Spanish learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube.

Plus! To get regular free Spanish lessons in your inbox, you can sign up for our short (coffee-break-sized) email lessons that will help you improve your Spanish. You will also hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, giving advice for language learners at any level. Sign up below!

Happy Coffee Breaking!

PS. Here are the answers to the translation challenge.

First of all, using the preterite tense:

1. Terminé mi desayuno rápidamente.
2. Terminé rápidamente mi desayuno.
3. Rápidamente terminé mi desayuno. (Remember that this is the emphatic structure, so can only be used in certain contexts.)

Now, using the present perfect tense:

1. He terminado mi desayuno rápidamente.
2. He terminado rápidamente mi desayuno.
3. Rápidamente he terminado mi desayuno. (Remember that this is the emphatic structure, so can only be used in certain contexts.)

Listen to the podcast

Knowing when to use tú and when to use usted can be challenging for any learner of Spanish, especially because it depends on the location where you are speaking Spanish.

The Coffee Break Spanish Show is a podcast series of bite-sized, friendly conversations, in which we demystify tricky Spanish language topics. In the latest episode, Anabel and Concha look into how to use tú and usted like native speakers in Spanish and sound natural in any part of the Spanish-speaking world.

Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?

Should I say ‘tú’ or ‘usted’?

In European Spanish, in general, we use both tú and usted, and there are actually verbs to describe both of these actions:

tutear
to use the tú form with 

ustedear
to use the usted form with

The use of one or the other will be determined by the context and how formal or informal the situation is. For example, we use tú when talking to people close to our age and with friends and family. We use usted when talking to strangers, especially if they are older than us, in order to show respect.

However, the lines aren’t always clear, so don’t worry! Here are some key points to remember:

• Use tú with your colleagues and maybe managers if the relationship is informal.
• With strangers, use tú with people younger or around your age.
• In customer service we can find both tú and usted. Tú is used when the brand looks for a more relaxed and friendly tone with their customers and usted if they prefer to show professionalism. Both are correct and it depends mainly on the company ethos.
• As for the plural forms, to address more than one person, we use vosotros/as in all the situations where you would use tú with an individual, and we use ustedes in the situations where you would use usted with an individual.

What about in Latin America?

In Latin American Spanish, the diversity in usage is greater and it will depend on the country.

In some countries, the use of vos instead of tú is the preferred option, while in other countries Spanish speakers prefer usted over tú.

One thing all Latin American countries have in common is that the plural form tends to always be ustedes, and not vosotros/as in informal contexts.

Another specific usage to note is that in Colombia, we can use usted to ask for a favour or to talk dearly to someone:

Anabel, ¿puede llevarme a la estación de tren en coche, por favor?
Anabel, can you take me to the train station by car, please?

Another regional difference

If you have enjoyed learning about the local differences and uses of tú, usted and vos, you may like this!

In the west of Andalucía, Concha says in the episode that she uses ustedes instead of vosotros, but using the vosotros conjugation of verbs. This means that Concha would naturally say ustedes tenéis for “you have”. Qué interesante, ¿verdad?

Keep practising ‘tuteando’ and ‘ustedeando’

One important thing to keep in mind is that we don’t need to stress too much about all these differences. Native speakers will be able to understand what you mean! However, it’s always nice to learn about the cultural differences and the diversity we can find in the Spanish language.

If you found this post interesting, make sure to listen to the full episode with Concha and Anabel on The Coffee Break Spanish Show. This is the series in which we look at a range of topics for Spanish learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube.

Plus! To get regular free Spanish lessons in your inbox, you can sign up for our short (coffee-break-sized) email lessons that will help you improve your Spanish. You will also hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, giving advice for language learners at any level. Sign up below!

Remember to keep practising using tú and usted when you are in a Spanish-speaking country, and listen out to hear how others do so. This is something you will get the hang of little by little and we’re sure that it will start to feel more instinctive in no time.

Happy Coffee Breaking

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