LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

  In English we have to be ; in French, être ; in German sein and in Spanish ser and estar . Those three languages make do with only one verb, and their speakers seem happy. Read below some of the Spanish possibilities and how English copes with them:   Ser listo                  to be clever Estar listo               to be ready Estar seguro           to be sure Ser seguro              to be safe Ser malo                to be bad, naughty Estar malo              to be sick, ill Ser bueno               to be good Es...

It always jolts me when I perceive that a a student does not grab the meaning of the personal pronouns and verbs. Aware of this I try to simplify what I think is simple enough. Let me give it a try: Spanish has 3 persons: First Person: Yo hablo (The speaker) Second Person: Tú hablas (The listener) Third Person: Él, ella, usted habla (The person ot thing we talk about) And that is all there is to it. The Trinity, thre persons. These three persons have plurals: First Person Plural: Nosotros hablamos Second Person Plural: Vosotros habláis (In parts of Spain) Third Person Plural: Ellos, ellas, ustedes habla n . (Or hablaro n , hablaba n , hablará n ...) Notice that in the Third Person, singular and plural, the difference is an " n ". English is the same Trinity as Spanish, except that the difference between the Third Person, singular and plural, the is an "s".

More examples of the clever way the English language skirts the "ser" and "estar" hurdle: Ser listo                       to be clever Estar listo                   to be ready Ser bueno                    to be good Estar bueno                to be tasty Ser alto                        to be tall Estar alto                    to be high ( not with alcohol) Ser guapo          ...