Ser conjugation: Complete guide to conjugating Ser in All Tenses + Audio 🖹

When saying “I am”, “you are”, “she is”, and so on in English, you are conjugating the verb “to be”, because saying “I to be” or “they to be” makes no sense. The exact same thing happens in Spanish. 

Ser is one of the two verbs in Spanish used to express “to be. It is used for talking about permanent characteristics, identity, nationality, occupations, gender, time, dates, and more.

So, in this article you will discover everything you need to know about the Spanish verb ser and ser conjugation, which you shouldn’t confuse with estar, another equivalent of the English verb “to be”.

1. When to use the verb ser in Spanish

This verb allows us to talk about permanent or lasting traits, such as:

• nationality
• occupation
• gender
• character and physical traits
  • height
  • appearance
  • skills

The key here is that we’re talking about permanent or lasting traits, in other words, they will remain the same for a long period of time.

2. Ser conjugation in the present tense

As you progress in your Spanish-learning process, you’ll notice that there are a lot of tenses in Spanish. For now, we’ll focus on el presente (the present tense), which allows us to talk about things as they currently are.

Talking about nationality

• Yo soy mexicana. (I am Mexican) 
• Tú eres canadiense. (You are Canadian)
• Ella es escocesa /
  Él es escocés. (S/he is Scottish)
• Usted es de Inglaterra. (Formal you come from England)

• Nosotras somos de Australia. (We come from Australia)
• Nosotros somos de Australia. (We come from Australia)
• Ustedes son alemanes. (Plural you are German) 
• Ellas son irlandesas. (They are Irish)
• Ellos son irlandeses. (They are Irish)

Talking about occupation

You will also use ser when talking about your occupation or that of others.

• Yo soy lingüista. (I’m a linguist)
• Tú eres dentista. (You are a dentist)
• Ella es abogada. (She is a lawyer) / Él es abogado. (He is a lawyer)
• Usted es profesora — if you are talking to a woman /
  Usted es profesor — if you are talking to a man (You are a professor) 

• Nosotras somos científicas (We are scientists) /
  Nosotros somos bailarines (We are dancers)
• Ustedes son policías (You are police officers)
• Ellas son traductoras (They are translators) /
  Ellos son intérpretes (They are interpreters)

You might have noticed that there are times when an O is used instead of an A, as in nosotras and nosotros or ellas and ellos.

Well, that’s because Spanish is a gendered language, and whatever the trait, it should match the relevant gender: nosotras somos científicas, ellas son científicas, nosotros somos científicos, ellos son científicos. 

Talking about gender

Speaking of gender, the verb ser allows us to indicate whether someone is a woman or a man.

• Yo soy mujer. (I am a woman)
• Tú eres hombre. (You are a man)
• Ustedes son mujeres (You guys are women)
• Ellos son hombres. (They are men)

Describing someone

If you’re describing someone’s character, skills or appearance, you also use the verb “ser”.

Like for example:

• Yo soy morena. (I am a brunette)
• Tú eres guapo. (You are good-looking)

We actually have a whole video with Spring Spanish teacher Maria Fernanda about describing people where you’ll learn tons of useful chunks, so why don’t you go check that one out?

Now, I hope you learned the previous conjugation quickly because I’m already sharing ALL TENSE CONJUGATIONS with you in the next sections. No pressure (but good to know and practice with chunks 😉)!

3. Conjugation of ser in Imperfect

4. Ser conjugation in Preterite

5. Ser conjugation in Future

6. Ser in Conditional

7. Ser conjugation in Present Subjunctive

8. Ser in Imperfect subjunctive – 2 forms ⚠️

The Imperfect Subjunctive in Spanish has two sets of conjugations. Both sets are correct and are used in various Spanish-speaking regions. (I put the second form in brackets.)

9. Ser in Future Subjunctive

The Future Subjunctive is reaaallly rarely used in modern Spanish. It’s mostly found in booring legal or very formal literature – as well as in some regional spoken forms.

10. Practice ser conjugation with our FREE Spanish Chunking Kit 

¡Muy bien! You are more than ready to use the verb ser correctly. ¡Eso es genial! (That’s great!)

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