lunes, 20 de abril de 2009

Ser o estar: esa es la cuestión

To be or not to be... You lucky English speakers! We Spanish speakers have to deal with this distinction. The question is: is it really necessary having this other word?

a) - Sí.
b) - No.
c) - Sí y no.

Exactly, you got it. Nothing is black or white. But let's go step by step. It is quite clear that for some uses, we only have one option: SER OR ESTAR. But in some other situations or contexts, we have the possibility to use SER AND ESTAR to express different aspects about the same thing or person.

Forget about it.

There's one principle that works for most students when it comes to learn a rule: I hear it and I put into practice with no exception for all cases.
If there's a rule that has been taught massively and few people have seemed to notice its side effects, that one is when to use SER and ESTAR.
Retaking the rule with its side effects, you've probably heard things like:

- You use the verb SER when it's something that lasts, a quality, a default you have, something constant and stable, whereas ESTAR you use it when it's something temporary or momentary, like sadness, boredom, sickness, you're drunk, etc.

When you try to put this rule into practice, it seems to work fine.

Soy José.

I'm supposed to be José all my life. Fine. But imagine your parents leave one day (at last) and you're home alone with all the house for you and you can do what you want:

- Soy rey por un día. (I'm the king for one day)

You really feel like you are. But how come you can use the verb SER if it's only for one day? Well, it might last only one day, but during that day, you have what is required, the power, the control, the properties of a king, what it takes to fully be a king. And after that day, when your parents are back:

- Ahora soy un esclavo otra vez (Now I'm a slave again)

Because now you have all properties a slave has: obey orders, make your bed, no freedom, etc. (I hope no mother or father is reading me :)

Estoy preocupado.-

I'm worried about something a couple of hours, one day, some days or longer but not all my life, right? The rule seems to work fine... up to here.
But then you worry about your kids going to school by themselves, and what about driving? There's a lot of accidents everyday, and there's health too, I'm eating too much cheese burguers lately, I should go to doctor... And a friend tells you:

- Pero, ¿qué te pasa? ¡Siempre estás preocupada por algo!

And you think: how come you can use the verb ESTAR if she said ALWAYS? Because it's true, you're always worried about something.In this case, the situation provokes the properties of the state. And situations can last your whole life, provoking that state on and on.
But let's go back to the easy stuff, that's when there's only one possible choice, ser or estar.

SER (only having 1 clear option)

Nationality:

a) SOY español. (I’m Spanish)
b) Estoy español (not possible)

Events:

a) Mi cumpleaños ES en octubre (it’s true, my birthday is in October)
b) Mi cumpleaños está en octubre (not possible)

Possession:

a) Este blog ES de José. (This blog is Jose’s)
b) Este blog está de José (not possible)

Identity:

a) Soy José. (I’m José)
b) Estoy José (not possible)

ESTAR (only having 1 clear option)

Location:

a) Estoy en mi cuarto. (I’m in my room)
b) Soy en mi cuarto (not possible)

Company:

a) Estoy con José en mi cuarto. (I’m with José in my room)
b) Soy con José en mi cuarto (not possible)

Quicksand.-

Now let's move on to quicksand, the cases in which both options are allowed and correct (ser and estar) but they change (drastically in some cases) the meaning of what we say.

Professions / occupations:

- Soy camarero.
- Estoy en un bar de camarero.

As you've probably seen in my other entry (what do you do in your life?) these two sentences point to the same profession, but in different terms. The first option says you've probably been a waiter for long and you probably intend to do it for a long time and maybe your whole life.
On the other hand, the 2nd choice works for somebody who maybe got a temporary job and maybe doesn't expect to be there for long (maybe yes if he likes it, we can't know when he says it).

To be continued...

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario