Ser y estar - Span2

Ellos _______ novio y novia.

Answer explanation

"Ellos son novio y novia."

In this example, ser is connecting two noun clauses.

Ellos - they

novio y novia - boyfriend and girlfriend

"They are boyfriend and girlfriend."

La silla _____ rota.

Answer explanation

"La silla está rota."

"The chair is broken."

Roto (a) is an adjective - broken. So this is the adjective rule.

In this example, estar is used to express the result of a previous action.

Why is there chair broken? Something broke it.

El espejo _______ roto.

Answer explanation

"El espejo está roto."

"The mirror is broken."

Roto (a) is an adjective - broken. So this is the adjective rule.

Why is the mirror broken? Because someone broke it.

We use estar with adjectives to express the result of a previous action.

Las dos personas ________ tomando _(bebiendo) café.

Answer explanation

"Las dos personas están tomando café."

"The two people are drinking coffee."

In this case, estar with a verb is expressing an action in progress.

Tomar is the infinitive.

Tomando is the gerund (the -ing form of the verb).

Están tomando (they are drinking) - acción en progreso (action in progress)

Mis amigos y yo _______ atléticos.

Answer explanation

"Mis amigos y yo somos atléticos."

"My friends and I are athletic/sporty."

We use ser with adjectives (like atlético (a)) by default (as a general rule).

Miranda y Pablo _______ cocinando en la cocina.

Answer explanation

"Miranda y Pablo están cocinando en la cocina."

"Miranda and Pablo are cooking in the kitchen."

We use estar with verbs to express actions in progress.

Cocinar is a verb in the infinitive form (unconjugated).

Cocinando is the gerund (the -ing form) of "cocinar."

Están cocinando - they are cooking

El perro _______ precioso (adorable).

Answer explanation

"El perro es precioso/adorable."

"The dog is cute/adorable."

We use ser with adjectives by default (as a general rule).

La señora ______ vieja.

Answer explanation

"La mujer es vieja."

"The woman is old."

Viejo (a) is an adjective.

While harsh, this sentence is a good example of ser being used "by default" with adjectives.

Aging is not the direct result of a previous action in the way "breaking a window" or "turning off the lights" would be.

La chica _______ rubia.

Answer explanation

"La mujer es rubia."

"The woman is blonde."

This is the "we use ser by default with adjectives" rule.

However...

_{We could have a deeper discussion about this one.}

_{If you have questions about this one, ask your instructor.}

Los panqueques ________ mi desayuno favorito.

Answer explanation

"Los panqueques son mi desayuno favorito."

"Pancakes are my favorite breakfast."

This is an example of "ser and only ser can connect two noun clauses."

Think about the most important words in the clause/phrase "mi desayuno favorito."

The heart of the phrase is "desayuno" - a noun. That makes this a "noun phrase."

And I repeat...

Ser, and only ser, can connect two noun clauses.