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Spanish grammar

The verb ser

A0 · Starter Verbs and time Questions 10

The rule

ser is the "to be" of identity: who you are, where you are FROM, what your job is, what something is made of, and what a thing is permanently like. It is completely irregular and worth learning as six words: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son. At A0 you need five of them.

Pattern

yo soy · tú eres · él/ella/usted es · nosotros somos · ellos/ustedes son

Examples

  1. Soy Ana. Soy española.

    I am Ana. I am Spanish.

  2. Mi madre es profesora.

    My mother is a teacher.

  3. Somos cuatro en casa.

    There are four of us at home.

Keep in mind

  • Soy de Siria.

    Origin is always ser, never estar.

Practice questions

Try each one yourself first, then open “Show answer” for the solution and the reason.

  1. 1Fill in the gap.

    Yo _____ de Marruecos.

    1. estoy
    2. soy
    3. es
    4. eres
    Show answer

    Answer: B Yo soy de Marruecos.

    Origin takes ser, first person soy.

  2. 2Fill in the gap.

    ¿Tú _____ estudiante?

    1. soy
    2. estás
    3. es
    4. eres
    Show answer

    Answer: D ¿Tú eres estudiante?

    Tú takes eres.

  3. 3Fill in the gap.

    Mi hermano _____ médico.

    1. son
    2. está
    3. eres
    4. es
    Show answer

    Answer: D Mi hermano es médico.

    A job takes ser, third person es.

  4. 4Fill in the gap.

    Nosotros _____ cinco en casa.

    1. estamos
    2. es
    3. somos
    4. son
    Show answer

    Answer: C Nosotros somos cinco en casa.

    Nosotros takes somos.

  5. 5Fill in the gap.

    Mis padres _____ mayores.

    1. somos
    2. están
    3. son
    4. es
    Show answer

    Answer: C Mis padres son mayores.

    A lasting quality takes ser, plural son.

  6. 6This sentence is wrong. Choose the fix.

    Yo estoy de Siria.

    1. Yo soy de Siria.
    2. Yo es de Siria.
    3. Yo está de Siria.
    4. Yo eres de Siria.
    Show answer

    Answer: A Yo soy de Siria.

    Where you are FROM is ser, not estar.

  7. 7Put the words in the right order.

    mujer es enfermera Mi

    Show answer

    Answer: Mi mujer es enfermera.

    No article before a job.

  8. 8Fill in the gap.

    Nosotros _____ de Marruecos.

    1. sois
    2. estamos
    3. son
    4. somos
    Show answer

    Answer: D Nosotros somos de Marruecos.

    Where you are from is ser, and nosotros takes somos.

  9. 9Fill in the gap.

    ¿_____ usted el señor Haddad?

    1. Soy
    2. Son
    3. Eres
    4. Es
    Show answer

    Answer: D ¿Es usted el señor Haddad?

    Usted takes es.

  10. 10Fill in the gap.

    Mis padres _____ profesores.

    1. es
    2. somos
    3. son
    4. están
    Show answer

    Answer: C Mis padres son profesores.

    A job is ser, and a plural subject takes son.

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