El verbo ser

aumento = increase; las aulas: classrooms

The verb ser means “to be”. Just as “to be” has an irregular conjugation in English (I am, you are, he/she is…), the verb ser is very irregular in Spanish. Therefore, it is important that you memorize it! When you change the verb depending on the subject, like the example below, you are conjugating the verb. In Spanish to conjugate verbs, you will give them a different form for each of the six subject pronouns.

Examples of conjugating with singular subjects:

• Yo soy (I am)
• Tú eres (You are)
• él es / ella es / usted es (He is / she is / you (formal) are)

Examples of conjugating with plural subjects:

• nosotros somos (We are)
• vosotros sois* (You are)
• ellos son / ellas son / ustedes son (They are / They (feminine) are / You (plural) are)

ser (to be)
singular	plural
yo soy	nosotros somos
tú eres	vosotros sois*
él es / ella es / usted es	ellos son / ellas son / ustedes son

* Remember that the “vosotros” form is only used in Spain. The Latin American equivalent is ustedes son.

lo que = what/ that which; ver (tú ves)=to watch, see

Using ser

Up to this point, you have seen ser used in the following ways:

• to identify someone/something
  • Yo soy Manuel.
  • Es mi cuaderno.
• to ask or say where someone is from (origin)
  • A: ¿De dónde son ustedes?
  • B: Nosotros somos de los Estados Unidos.
• To ask and say your profession
  • A: ¿Eres profesor?
  • B: No, yo soy estudiante.

• To describe something or someone.
  • El cuaderno es rojo.
  • La profesora es inteligente.

• To ask and answer about dates.
  • ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
  • Es el primero de marzo.

Possession with ser

Ser is also used to ascribe ownership, in combination with the preposition de (of). Be careful! English uses an apostrophe to say who something belongs to, but in Spanish we have to use a phrase with “de”.

• El cuaderno azul es de Raúl. (The blue notebook is Raúl’s.)
• El cuaderno de Raúl es azul. (Raúl’s notebook is blue.)