How to say "IS" and "ARE" in Spanish by SraRappRapp

SER

tamelarappold — 2024-01-03 14:59:41 UTC

SER is used to express WHO YOU ARE (physical characteristics, personality traits and where you're from). It is used to IDENTIFY people and objects.

Saying "temporary" is too simplistic and doesn't help you discern between SER and ESTAR.

ESTAR

tamelarappold — 2024-01-03 14:59:41 UTC

ESTAR is used to express HOW YOU FEEL and WHERE YOU ARE. It also is used to express a condition that can change.

Saying "temporary" is too simplistic and doesn't help you discern between SER and ESTAR.

TENER - Idiomatic Expressions

tamelarappold — 2024-01-03 15:00:09 UTC

Note that in Spanish one doesn't say that he/she IS hungry; rather, he/she HAS hunger.

TENER - Describing Hair & Eyes

tamelarappold — 2024-01-03 15:00:23 UTC

Weather Expressions with "Hace"

tamelarappold — 2024-01-04 16:58:31 UTC

To say, "It is cold / hot / windy," use "hace" + frío / calor / viento. It translates as, "It makes cold / hot / wind."

NOTE: Sometimes you use ESTAR to describe the weather when it is a condition that can change.

Example: Está nublado. (It's cloudy.)

Also, sometimes you use HAY to describe countable things.

Example: HAY nubes. (There are clouds.)

"Hay" for Expressing Quantity

tamelarappold — 2024-01-04 16:59:07 UTC

TENER

tamelarappold — 2024-01-04 17:14:16 UTC

Above is the conjugation of the verb TENER. It is used in many IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS (i.e. cannot be translated literally). In these expressions, it translates as "is," "am," or "are" in English.

TENER literally means, "to have" (in English, "to -tain" -> maintain, retain, detain, etc.)