Ser Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson, Exercises, and PDF

To be, or not to be? That is the question… or is it? Actually, the real question is which “to be” verb do I use in Spanish and how do I conjugate it correctly? While two different words mean “to be” in Spanish, we’ll focus all of our efforts today on the verb ser and its conjugation.

Want to conquer both “to be” verbs in one go? Learn how to conjugate estar.

A Quick Review of Ser

Before we jump into the conjugations, let’s review the usage of ser. Between ser and estar, the verb ser is more permanent.

• Use ser for physical descriptions
  • Ella es alta. – She is tall.
  • La casa es grande. – The house is big.
• Use ser for times and dates
  • Son las 10 y media. – It is 10:30.
  • Hoy es martes. – Today is Tuesday.
• Use ser professions and relationships
  • Soy maestra. – I am a teacher.
  • Ella es mi mejor amiga. – She is my best friend.
• Use ser for permanent descriptions.
  • Yo soy feliz. – I am a happy person (always happy).

Whenever you’re in doubt, ask yourself: is this something permanent or temporary? If it is permanent, use ser!

Hand-picked for you: Ser versus Estar

The Complete Guide to Ser Conjugation

Since this is a complete overview of the ser conjugation, there may be tenses and forms that you are not yet familiar with. Don’t worry! If you are just looking for the correct spelling and conjugation of a certain tense, then enjoy the presentation below. On the other hand, if you would like to learn more about the different moods and tenses, click on the links to learn more. 

Don’t forget to practice the ser conjugation using the exercises below!

Ser Conjugation: Indicative Mood

The indicative mood is the one most commonly used in Spanish. In the first three tenses, the ser conjugations are completely irregular, while the conditional and future conjugations follow the regular rules. 

	Present simple	Past Simple	Past Imperfect	Conditional	Future Simple
Yo	soy	fui	era	sería	seré
Tú	eres	fuiste	eras	serías	serás
Usted	es	fue	era	sería	será
Él, ella	es	fue	era	sería	será
Nosotros	somos	fuimos	éramos	seríamos	seremos
Ustedes	son	fueron	eran	serían	serán
Ellos, ellas	son	fueron	eran	serían	serán

*Pay close attention to the past simple ser conjugation, as it is exactly the same as the ir conjugation. (Learn more about ir conjugation.)

**Don’t forget the accent marks! The nosotros form is the only one that takes an accent mark in the imperfect ser conjugation and the only one that does NOT use a tilde in the future tense.

Ser Conjugation: Subjunctive Mood

Both of these conjugations are irregular, but there are a few things to keep in mind so they won’t be difficult to memorize. For the present subjunctive ser conjugation, instead of removing the full -er ending, just remove the “r” before adding the regular -er endings for the present subjunctive. For the past tense, each conjugation looks a lot like the past indicative form of ser for ustedes and ellos – fueron. Change the “o” to an “a,” and you have the base for the past subjunctive. 

	Present	Past
Yo	sea	fuera
Tú	seas	fueras
Usted	sea	fuera
Él, ella	sea	fuera
Nosotros	seamos	fuéramos
Ustedes	sean	fueran
Ellos, ellas	sean	fueran

Keep in mind that there are two other subjunctive tenses: the future and another past tense form. The future subjunctive is hardly ever used, and the past subjunctive tense shown is the one most common. 

Ser Conjugation: Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is used to give commands. For these tenses, you don’t include most of the subject pronouns and their ser conjugations. Why? Because commands cannot be given to yourself (yo), to us (nosotros), or to people you are not talking to (él, ella, ellos, ellas). 

	Affirmative	Negative
Tú	sé	No seas
Usted	sea	No sea
Ustedes	sean	No sean

Many people and Spanish instructors may include a nosotros form in the imperative mood to express phrases like “Let’s do it!” However, according to the Real Academia Española, the nosotros form is actually in the subjunctive mood. 

Download Your Free eBook!

Before you jump into compound ser conjugations, download Homeschool Spanish Academy’s free eBook for beginners called Weird & Wacky Spanish Stories for Beginners! It’s best suited for A2 level and above, but it’s also perfect for A1 learners who wish to improve their fluency through reading. It’s fun for kids and adults!

Compound Ser Conjugations

In addition to the above tenses, there are also just as many compound tenses in the imperative and subjunctive mood. There are two groups of compound tenses, one with the helping verb haber and one with estar. The conjugation changes in these tenses happen within the helping verbs while the form of ser stays the same. For these compound ser conjugations, there are two new forms of ser that you need to learn.

1. Conjugation of haber + past participle of ser
2. Conjugation of estar + gerund form of ser

The past participle of ser is sido.

The gerund form of ser is siendo.

Let’s see them in action.

• Yo he sido una maestra por mucho años. – I have been a teacher for many years.
• Hemos sido amigos por solo un par de semanas. – We have been friends for only a few weeks.
• Estamos siendo vigilados por los vecinos. – We are being watched by the neighbors.
• Ellos están siendo echado de su propio terreno. – They are being kicked off their own land.

As you can see, the past participle and gerund forms of ser do not change with different subjects. Easy, right?

Master them all: Ser vs Estar vs Tener

Let’s start practicing!

Exercises with Ser Conjugation

Check your understanding of ser conjugation with the following exercises! Be sure to check each answer with the answer key below. ¡Buena suerte!

1. Identify the tense and pronoun of each ser conjugation.
   
   1. Fui
   2. Serán
   3. Eres
   4. Fueran
   5. Seríamos
   6. Sé
   7. Sea
   8. No seas
   9. Soy
   10. Éramos
       
2. Conjugate ser in the tense given.
   
   1. Usted – future
   2. Ellas – past simple
   3. Tú – imperative, negative
   4. Nosotros – present simple
   5. Yo – conditional
   6. Él – past subjunctive
   7. Ustedes – present subjunctive
   8. Ella – imperfect
   9. Usted – imperative, affirmative
   10. Ellos – future
       
3. Find and correct the error in the ser conjugation.
   
   1. Yo es ingeniero.
   2. Necesito que el correo sean más formal.
   3. Ella está sido observada.
   4. Es las 8 de la noche.
   5. Nosotros éran mejores amigos hace cinco años.
   6. Él fuera presidente un día.
   7. Esa semana fui la mejor de toda mi vida.
   8. ¡No sé tonto! (tú)
   9. Quería que ella fuero mi jefa. 
   10. Pienso que esto serían más divertido.
       
4. State whether the following is verdadero or falso.
   
   1. The past simple ser conjugation is the same as the ir conjugation.
   2. There are only two subjunctive conjugations.
   3. Ser is a completely irregular verb.
   4. The conditional and future tenses of ser are regular
   5. Siendo is the past participle of ser
   6. There are only three ser conjugations for the affirmative imperative tense
   7. The nosotros form of the imperfect form does not have an accent mark
   8. In compound tenses with ser, the helping verb changes according to the pronoun
   9. The helping verbs that are often used with ser are haber and ir.
   10. To make compound tenses with ser, you use either the past participle or gerund form of ser
       
5. Fill in the blank with the correct form of ser.
   
   1. Nosotros _____________ personas muy felices. (present simple)
   2. Ella ha _____________ doctora por dos décadas. (past participle)
   3. Quiero que nosotros _____________ mejores amigos. (present subjunctive)
   4. Tú _____________ una madre fantástica. (future)
   5. Él _____________ un niño muy travieso. (imperfect)
   6. Queríamos que _____________ diferente. (past subjunctive)
   7. ¡_____________ amable! (usted – imperative, affirmative)
   8. Ayer _____________ miércoles. (past simple)
   9. Eso _____________ muy interesante. (conditional)
   10. ¡_____________ así! (tú – imperative, negative)
       
6. Translate the following sentences to English.
   
   1. Ella es mi mamá. 
   2. Mañana será un día muy divertido.
   3. Nosotros hemos sido estudiantes por 10 años. 
   4. ¿Serás nuestro nuevo maestro?
   5. Serías tan amable de pasarme el documento.
   6. Ella quiere que yo sea más punctual.
   7. El proyecto de ayer fue muy difícil.
   8. Yo era un niño muy tímido.
   9. Estamos siendo obedientes.
   10. ¡Sean fuertes!

Keep Up the Practice!

Great job with those exercises! If you have any questions or would like to continue practicing, schedule a class with the Homeschool Spanish Academy. Our live, native Spanish-speaking teachers are here to help you. Ask them about when to use each ser conjugation, how to memorize them, and how to best practice Spanish verb conjugations. They will also boost your Spanish fluency by engaging you in real-life conversation. What are you waiting for? Sign up for a free class today and perfect your Spanish conjugation. ¡Eres un buen estudiante!

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Answer Key

Exercise 1) a: yo – past simple, b: ellos/ustedes – future, c: tú – present simple, d: ellos – past subjunctive, e: nosotros – conditional, f: tú – imperative affirmative, g: yo, él, ella o usted – present subjunctive OR usted – imperative affirmative, h: tú – imperative negative, i: yo – present simple, j: nosotros – imperfect

Exercise 2) a: será, b: fueron, c: no seas, d: somos, e: sería, f: fuera, g: sean, h: era, i: sea, j: serán

Exercise 3) a: Yo soy ingeniero, b: Necesito que el correo sea más formal, c: Ella está siendo observada, d: Son las 8 de la noche, e: Nosotros éramos mejores amigos hace cinco años, f: Él será presidente un día, g: Esa semana fue la mejor de toda mi vida, h: ¡No seas tonto! i: Quería que ella fuera mi jefa, j: Pienso que esto sería más divertido.

Exercise 4) a: verdadero, b: falso – there are 4, but only two simple forms are the most commonly used, c: falso – in some tenses, ser is conjugated regularly, d: verdadero, e: falso – it is the gerund, f: verdadero, g: falso – there is an accent mark over the e, h: verdadero, i: falso – they are haber and estar, j: verdadero

Exercise 5) a: somos, b: sido, c: seamos, d: serás, e: era, f: fuera, g: sea, h: fue, i: sería, j: no seas

Exercise 6) a: She is my mom, b: Tomorrow will be a very fun day, c: We have been students for 10 years, d: Will you be our new teacher? e: Would you be so kind as to pass me the document, f: She wants me to be more punctual, g: Yesterday’s project was very difficult, h: I was a very shy child, i: We are being obedient, j: Be strong!