Ser vs Estar: Quizzes in Present and Past Tense
Ser vs Estar, what’s the deal with these Spanish verbs that create so much stress for new learners of the language?
Here at the Homeschool Spanish Academy blog, we have discussed the ser vs estar situation in a series of posts. One of them even focuses on All the ways to say “I am” in Spanish, which details the peculiarities of these two verbs.
Let’s take a closer look at the present and past tenses conjugations of ser vs estar. Keep reading for a quick guide to ser and estar, as well as a couple of mini-quizzes to test your new knowledge.
Enjoy the ride!
Ser vs Estar: Present Tense
The present tense is probably the most common conjugation and a good place to start learning a new language. However, there isn’t just one present tense but three, and, to complicate matters more, three different moods, too: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. For now, we’ll just focus on the simple present of indicative.
Ser Present Tense
You have to use the simple present in the indicative mood in Spanish when talking about habitual activities, general truths, set future events, current actions, events in the near future, “if” clauses, passing of time, and ordering food and drinks.
Now, ser is an irregular verb, which means that it doesn’t follow the same conjugation rules as most verbs. Check out the conjugation chart for ser in the simple present indicative tense:
| Simple Present Indicative | ||
| Pronoun | Ser | Example |
| yo | soy | Yo soy estudiante. (I am a student.) |
| tú | eres | Eres un buen amigo. (You are a good friend.) |
| él/ella | es | Ella es mi novia. (She is my girlfriend.) |
| nosotros | somos | ¡Somos los campeones! (We are the champions!) |
| ustedes | son | Ustedes no son de aquí, ¿verdad? (You are not from here, right?) |
| ellos/ellas | son | Ellos son mis hermanos. (They are my brothers.) |
Estar Present Tense
Just like ser, the Spanish verb estar is also an irregular verb, and its conjugations are quite unique.
| Simple Present Indicative | ||
| Pronoun | Estar | Example |
| yo | estoy | Estoy en mi casa. (I am at my house.) |
| tú | estás | ¿Cómo estás?. (How are you?) |
| él/ella | está | Laura está enferma. (Laura is sick.) |
| nosotros | estamos | Estamos bien. (We are okay.) |
| ustedes | están | ¿Están cansados por el viaje? (Are you tired because of the trip?) |
| ellos/ellas | están | Ellas están en el equipo de porristas. (They are on the cheerleadering team.) |
It’s important to remember when to use ser vs estar. Ser is reserved for permanent states and it’s used for descriptions, time, origin, occupation, and possession, whereas estar expresses temporary states such as ongoing actions, emotions, location, position, and physical conditions.
Present Tense Quiz
Fill in the blank with the right verb and its respective conjugation.
- __________ esperando en la fila. – I’m waiting in line.
- ¿Y tú quién __________ ? – And who are you?
- ___________ afuera de tu casa. – We are outside your house.
- ___________ tu familia. – We are your family.
- Carla te __________ esperando. – Carla is waiting for you.
Answer Key
- Estoy
- eres
- Estamos
- Somos
- está
Ser vs Estar: Past Tense
Just as with the present tense, the Spanish past tense has some variations. The past in Spanish includes the past simple also known as the pretérito, the past imperfect, the past continuous, and the past perfect.
For the purposes of this ser vs estar post, let’s focus on the pretérito and the imperfecto, which are the most frequently used past tenses in Spanish.
Ser Past Tense
You use the pretérito of the verb ser when you want to talk about what you were at a certain point in the past. Then, you have to use the imperfecto for actions that repeatedly or continually took place in the past.
Let’s take a look at the past tense conjugation chart for ser:
| Pronoun | Pretérito | Example |
| yo | fui | Yo fui el primero de mi clase en la primaria. (I was the head of the class in elementary school.) |
| tú | fuiste | Tú fuiste mi primer amor. (You were my first love.) |
| él/ella | fue | Mi madre fue un gran ejemplo. (My mother was a great model for me.) |
| nosotros | fuimos | Nosotros fuimos los ganadores en 1990. (We were the winners in 1990.) |
| ustedes | fueron | Ustedes fueron expulsados de la escuela. (You all were expelled from school.) |
| ellos/ellas | fueron | Ellos fueron los responsables de todo. (They were responsible for everything.) |
| Pronoun | Imperfecto | Example |
| yo | era | Yo era el capitán de mi equipo de fútbol. (I was the captain of my soccer team.) |
| tú | eras | Tú eras el más inteligente. (You were the most intelligent one.) |
| él/ella | era | Mi mejor amigo era Alberto. (My best friend was Alberto.) |
| nosotros | éramos | Nosotros éramos los más populares en la preparatoria. (We were the most popular guys in high school.) |
| ustedes | eran | Ustedes eran un equipo muy malo. (You were a very bad team.) |
| ellos/ellas | eran | Ellas eran las más guapas. (They were the most beautiful girls.) |
Estar Past Tense
Remember, use ser to talk about what you were in the past. Estar is about where you were or what you were doing in the past.
| Pronoun | Pretérito | Example |
| yo | estuve | Yo estuve en ese concierto. (I was at that concert.) |
| tú | estuviste | ¿Dónde estuviste ayer? (Where were you yesterday?) |
| él/ella | estuvo | Estuvo aquí toda la noche. (He was here all night.) |
| nosotros | estuvimos | Anoche estuvimos jugando dominó. (Last night we were playing dominoes.) |
| ustedes | estuvieron | ¿Ustedes estuvieron con él ayer? (Were you with him yesterday?) |
| ellos/ellas | estuvieron | Ellos estuvieron en mi casa hasta las 8 de la noche. (They were at my house until 8 pm.) |
| Pronoun | Imperfecto | Example |
| yo | estaba | Estaba equivocado. (I was wrong.) |
| tú | estabas | Tú estabas en lo correcto. (You were right.) |
| él/ella | estaba | Él estaba enamorado de ti. (He was in love with you.) |
| nosotros | estábamos | Estábamos locos en aquella época. (We were crazy back then.) |
| ustedes | estaban | ¿Ustedes estaban en España en ese año? (Were you in Spain that year?) |
| ellos/ellas | estaban | Ellos estaban muy ocupados. (They were really busy.) |
Past Tense Quiz
Fill in the blank with the right verb and its respective conjugation.
- Nosotros __________ los mejores. – We were the best.
- Ellos __________ conmigo todo el día. – They were with me all day.
- ___________ tú quien rompió las reglas. – You were the one who broke the rules.
- Ella ___________ aquí hace un momento. – She was here a moment ago.
- Tú __________ el más divertido de la clase. – You were the funniest guy in the class.
Answer Key
- éramos
- estuvieron
- Fuiste
- estaba
- eras
¿Quieres ser bilingüe?
You’ve got all you need to differentiate between ser vs estar in present and past tenses—now it’s time to practice it with a native Spanish speaker! Sign up now for a free trial lesson with one of our certified Spanish teachers from Guatemala and learn while enjoying the fun and flexible classes available here at Homeschool Spanish Academy. You’ll be bilingual before you know it!
Want more free Spanish grammar resources? Check out these posts!
- All About Adverbial Clauses in Spanish
- The Ultimate Guide to the Differences Between ‘Pero’ and ‘Sino’ in Spanish
- A Guide to Double Negatives in Spanish
- Ver Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson, Exercises, and PDF
- Common Irregular Informal Commands in Spanish
- Dialect vs Accent: Is It a Language, Dialect, or Accent?
- How to Use the Past Participle as an Adjective in Spanish
- Punctuation Marks, Special Characters, and Other Symbols in Spanish
- A Guide to Double Negatives in Spanish - December 18, 2024
- Señora vs Señorita: Who Is She? - October 9, 2024
- How to Use the Past Participle as an Adjective in Spanish - October 3, 2024
