| This lesson will help you understand the expressions
ser vs estar, hay vs hay que, tener vs tener que in Spanish, and enables you to
use real examples shown below. If you have any question let us know by clicking
on the “Contact us” button, this lesson is very important since it covers a
very widely used element in Spanish.
Ser vs Estar
Ser
and estar may be the most confusing
verbs for Spanish students, both mean “to be”, and it's hard to know which one
to use if you're not familiar with the rules. Ser
is used to express what something is, while estar expresses where or how
it is.
This table will show the difference between the two:
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Ser vs
Estar
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Ser is used:
-To show possession: la casa de José (the house of José)
-To show origin:
yo soy de Mexico (I´m from Mexico)
-To show what material
things are made of:
La falda es de seda, The skirt is (made of)
silk
-To express religious or political affiliation:
¿eres Musulmán? (Are you Muslim?)
-To express dates,
days, seasons, time, events: Son las tres (It is 03:00) Es el segundo de
enero (It’s the second of January)
-To tell a profession:
es profesor (he is a teacher)
-To express characteristic:
mi hermana es muy inteligente (my sister is very intelligent)
-To express size:
Nueva York es grande (NY is big)
-To express length: el
texto es largo (The text is long)
-To refer to colors:
el cielo es azul (The sky is blue)
In general we use Ser to
describe a person, place or thing (possession, origin, essence of things,
affiliation, characteristic, size, length, color, personality, profession,
etc.). This description is something that does not change at all in some
cases, or the change is gradual and slow.
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Estar
is used:
-To
express location or position of things
& people (not events) whether it’s permanent or temporary: Ella está en
su casa (she is in her house).
-To describe a temporary
condition or feeling of a person or
thing: Tú estás enfermo (You are sick) La escuela está cerrada (The school is
closed) Luis (Luis is tired). La ventana está abierta (The window is open)
-To express physical conditions
and civil status: su padre está muerto (his
father is dead), ella está cansada (she is tired), está casada (she is
married)
-Used with the present participle to form
the progressive tenses, present and past:
-Mi hijo está jugando. (My son is playing) -Te estaba esperando. (I was
waiting for you)
Estar in short is used
for: location of things or people (not events!), moods, temporary feelings
& physical conditions.
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The
use of ser or estar can determine the meaning of
the sentence.
El
profesor es aburrido (The teacher is boring (personality) El profesor
está aburrido (He is bored just in that moment (temporary).
El
profesor es nervioso (The teacher is a nervous person). El profesor está
nervioso (The teacher is nervous at this moment).
La
chica es guapa (the girl is cute). La chica está guapa (the girl looks and only
looks cute).
Food
is described using ser and estar depending on the
meaning:
Los
pescados son buenos (in general fish is good) Los pescados estan bien (this
fish is good meaning tastes good right now).
So
if you are talking about what something is, use ser; if you are
talking about how something is, use estar. In
general we say estar bien /alegre /triste /de mal humor /aquí /sentado / de pie
/muerto and Ser alto/a /guapo/a /inteligente / hombre/mujer
/ joven/ de San Antonio/ delgado/a / simpático /fuerte.
Verb Tener:
In
Spanish the verb tener is used more
widely than the verb “to have’ in English, and it’s not only used to express
possession but also to help express many other idioms of emotions and state of
being. tengo 20 años (I´m 20 years old), tengo hambre (I’m hungry) ¿Qué
tienes? (What's up with you? what’s it to you?)...
These
are some idiomatic expressions of Tener:
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Expressions with Tener
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no
tener cuidado (to not worry): espero que no tengas cuidado. (I
don't want you to worry)
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no tener nada que ver con (to
have nothing to do with) El no tiene nada que ver con el problema (he has nothing
to do with the problem)
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tener ... Años (to be ... years
old): Tengo 20 años (I'm 33 years old)
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tener ... de
ancho/largo/altura(to be .... wide/long/tall): La casa tiene 45 metros de
altura (the house is 45 meters high).
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tener calor (to be hot): ¿tienes
calor? (Are you hot?)
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tener cariño (to be fond): su
marido tiene cariño a ella (her husband is fond of her)
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tener
celos (to be jealous): Tengo celos a mi amiga. (I'm jealous of my
friend)
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tener cuidado (to be careful):
¡qué tengas cuidado cuando cruces la calle!(be careful when crossing the
street)
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tener
derecho (to have the right): tengo el derecho de expresar mis ideas . (I have
the right to express my ideas)
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tener en cuenta (to bear in
mind): ten en cuenta que tu tienes un fuerza dento de tí (keep in mind that
you have a power inside you).
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tener
éxito (to be successfu)l: para tener éxito, hay que estudiar. (To
succeed, we must study)
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tener frío (to be cold): Tengo
frío. (I'm cold.)
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tener ganas de + infinitive (to
be in the mood for): no tengo ganas de salir está noche (I don’t feel like
going out tonight).
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tener hambre (to be hungry):
Amigo! Tengo hambre (Hey friend! I’m hungry)
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tener ilusión, to be
enthusiastic: Tiene ilusión por viajar a los EE.UU (He's enthusiastic about
traveling to the U.S)
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tener la culp (to be guilty or
at fault): no tengo la culpa (it’s not my fault)
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tener lugar (to take place): La
boda tuvo lugar en la playa(the wedding took place at the beach).
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tener miedo a + noun (to be
afraid of): tienes miedo a las ranas (you’re scared of frogs)
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tener
miedo de + infinitive (to be afraid of): ella tiene miedo de cantar. (She’s
afraid of singing)
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tener por seguro (to rest
assured) Ten por seguro que nuestra misión no termina aquí (rest
assured our mission doesn’t end here)
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tener
prisa (to be in a hurry): lo siento, pero tengo prisa. (Sorry,
but I'm in a hurry)
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tener
razón (to be right): no creo que ella tiene razón. (I
don’t think she is right)
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tener
sed (to be thirsty): me puedes dar un vaso de agua. Tengo
sed. (Can you give me a glass of water, I’m thirsty)
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tener sueño (to be tired or
sleepy): me voy, tengo sueño (I’m leaving, I’m sleepy.)
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tener
suerte (to be lucky): Tengo mucha suerte. Porque
vivo con buena gente (I’m lucky because I live with nice people)
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tener vergüenza
(to be embarassed): (tiene verguenza de ser el hijo de un obrero (he is
ashamed of being the son of a laborer.)
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Hay vs Hay Que
Hay
is used in both singular and plural to express "there is "
or "there are" it's used extensively. It is also used
in interrogative sentences where it translates as is there? or are there? Hay
una casa grande en la esquina (there is a big house in the corner). Hay
dos árboles en nuestro jardín (there are two trees in our garden).
Hay que + infinitive is used to express the idea of "one
must do something" or, "it is necessary to do
something." It is a more general expression and since there is no subject,
the verb form hay is always used. hay que estudiar, para tener
éxito (one must study to succeed).
So
don’t confuse between hay (there is/are) and hay que (one
must/have to...).
Tener vs. Tener que + infinitive
The verb tener
is used to mean (to have) in the sense of possession. Tengo una casa
muy grande (I have a very big house). ¿tiene él dinero? (Does he have
money?)
But tener que + infinitive means "have
to": me tengo que ir ahora (I have to go now). no tienes
que hacerlo (you don't have to do it).
Hay que + infinitive vs
Tener que+ infinitive: they both mean almost the same thing, but
tener is a verb while hay is not, therefore tener should be conjugated
according to the subject of the sentence. Hay que is more general than tener
que, so when we say hay que estudiar para tener éxito (we mean in general we
should study to succeed, which may apply for all people, when we say tengo que
estudiar para tener éxito (it means only me if i study I will succeed).
I
hope you benefited from this lesson (the Spanish ser vs. estar, hay vs hay que,
tener vs tener que), please check our other lessons to take advantage of the
other useful information they may contain.
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Ser Vs Estar, Hay Que vs Tener Que 