I can say hello and goodbye in Spanish at any time of day, introduce myself, and use any form of ser to say who is who.
The verb ser: who is it and who are you
The verb ser: who is it and who are you
The verb ser means “to be”: Yo soy Pablo.
The forms are in the table. usted (formal “you” to one person) takes es, like él and ella; ustedes takes son.
Unlike English, Spanish usually drops the subject: the ending shows the person. Soy Ana. The pronoun is for contrast: Yo soy Ana, y él es Diego.
Negatives: no goes before the verb, unlike English “not”: No soy Pablo. Short answers: Sí, soy Pablo. / No, no soy Pablo. Spanish no is both “no” and “not”.
Questions: the voice rises, and ¿ opens the question: ¿Eres Teresa? As in “Are you…?”, the subject often follows the verb: ¿Sois vosotras Ana y Teresa?
Greetings: ¡Buenos días! until lunch (about 2 p.m.), ¡Buenas tardes! from lunch until dark, ¡Buenas noches! in the evening and at night, also to greet. días is masculine: Buenos; tardes and noches are feminine: Buenas.
Introductions: Me llamo Ana (“I call myself Ana”). Reply: ¡Mucho gusto!, ¡Encantado! (said by a man) / ¡Encantada! (said by a woman). y is “and”, o is “or”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Yo es Diego” and NOT “Nosotros sois” — yo takes soy; sois is for vosotros.
• NOT “Soy no Pablo” — no goes before the verb.
• NOT “Sí, soy.” — Spanish has no short “Yes, I am”: Sí, soy Teresa.
• NOT “Eres Teresa?” — the question needs ¿ at the start too.
• NOT “Yo soy llamo Miguel” — either Soy Miguel or Me llamo Miguel.
• NOT “Buenos noches” — correct: ¡Buenas noches!
The verb ser in the present tense
usted takes the same form as él and ella; ustedes takes the same form as ellos.
| Subject | Form of ser | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | soy | Yo soy Pablo. |
| tú | eres | ¿Eres Teresa? |
| él · ella · usted | es | Ella es Ana. |
| nosotros · nosotras | somos | Somos Álvaro y Ana. |
| vosotros · vosotras | sois | ¿Sois Diego y Miguel? |
| ellos · ellas · ustedes | son | Ellos son Javier y Diego. |
Lesson notes
The verb ser: who is it and who are you
The verb ser means “to be”: Yo soy Pablo.
The forms are in the table. usted (formal “you” to one person) takes es, like él and ella; ustedes takes son.
Unlike English, Spanish usually drops the subject: the ending shows the person. Soy Ana. The pronoun is for contrast: Yo soy Ana, y él es Diego.
Negatives: no goes before the verb, unlike English “not”: No soy Pablo. Short answers: Sí, soy Pablo. / No, no soy Pablo. Spanish no is both “no” and “not”.
Questions: the voice rises, and ¿ opens the question: ¿Eres Teresa? As in “Are you…?”, the subject often follows the verb: ¿Sois vosotras Ana y Teresa?
Greetings: ¡Buenos días! until lunch (about 2 p.m.), ¡Buenas tardes! from lunch until dark, ¡Buenas noches! in the evening and at night, also to greet. días is masculine: Buenos; tardes and noches are feminine: Buenas.
Introductions: Me llamo Ana (“I call myself Ana”). Reply: ¡Mucho gusto!, ¡Encantado! (said by a man) / ¡Encantada! (said by a woman). y is “and”, o is “or”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Yo es Diego” and NOT “Nosotros sois” — yo takes soy; sois is for vosotros.
• NOT “Soy no Pablo” — no goes before the verb.
• NOT “Sí, soy.” — Spanish has no short “Yes, I am”: Sí, soy Teresa.
• NOT “Eres Teresa?” — the question needs ¿ at the start too.
• NOT “Yo soy llamo Miguel” — either Soy Miguel or Me llamo Miguel.
• NOT “Buenos noches” — correct: ¡Buenas noches!