Ser in Present Tense

Now that you understand when to use ser, it is time to learn how to conjugate it. Ser is one of the most important and most irregular verbs in Spanish. Its present tense forms must be memorised because they do not follow any regular conjugation pattern.

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Full Conjugation

Subject Pronoun	Conjugation	English
yo	soy	I am
tú	eres	you are (informal)
él/ella/usted	es	he is / she is / you are (formal)
nosotros/nosotras	somos	we are
vosotros/vosotras	sois	you all are (Spain, informal)
ellos/ellas/ustedes	son	they are / you all are (formal)

Tip: Since ser is completely irregular, there is no shortcut — you must commit these six forms to memory. The good news is that ser is so common that you will see these forms hundreds of times and they will become natural very quickly.

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Pronunciation Guide

Form	Pronunciation	Phonetic
soy	soy	/soi/
eres	EH-res	/ˈe.ɾes/
es	es	/es/
somos	SO-mos	/ˈso.mos/
sois	sois	/sois/
son	son	/son/

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Uses of Ser with Examples

1. Nationality and Origin

Use ser + de to express where someone is from.

Spanish	English
Yo soy de España.	I am from Spain.
¿De dónde eres tú?	Where are you from?
Ella es mexicana.	She is Mexican.
Nosotros somos argentinos.	We are Argentine.
Son de Colombia.	They are from Colombia.
Usted es de Perú, ¿verdad?	You are from Peru, right?

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2. Occupation and Profession

Use ser to state someone's job. Remember: no article before an unmodified profession.

Spanish	English
Soy profesor.	I am a teacher.
María es médica.	María is a doctor.
Somos estudiantes.	We are students.
Ellos son ingenieros.	They are engineers.
¿Eres abogada?	Are you a lawyer?

With a modifier, add the article:

Spanish	English
Soy un buen profesor.	I am a good teacher.
Es una doctora excelente.	She is an excellent doctor.

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3. Physical Descriptions and Personality

Use ser for characteristics that are considered inherent or defining.

Spanish	English
Mi hermana es alta.	My sister is tall.
El gato es negro.	The cat is black.
Ellos son inteligentes.	They are intelligent.
Eres muy simpático.	You are very friendly.
María es rubia.	María is blonde.
La casa es grande.	The house is big.
Carlos es tímido.	Carlos is shy.

Remember: These are defining traits. If you want to say someone looks different today (a change), use estar: Estás muy guapa hoy (You look very pretty today).

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4. Time and Date

Ser is used for telling time and stating dates.

Spanish	English
¿Qué hora es?	What time is it?
Es la una.	It is one o'clock.
Son las tres.	It is three o'clock.
Son las diez y media.	It is half past ten.
Hoy es lunes.	Today is Monday.
Es el quince de marzo.	It is the fifteenth of March.

Note: Use es for 1:00 (singular) and son for all other hours (plural).

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5. Possession and Material