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We have seen separate videos of how to use ser and how to use estar.
It is always difficult to learn a language that has multiple verbs meaning ‘to be’,
especially if your native language does not make any distinction at all, like English.
But here we will learn to distinguish the various uses a bit more,
learn some key concepts that will always make these two verbs clear,
and figure out how haber works in this equation.
We will be, we will exist, and we will learn!
As mentioned in their respective videos, ser is closely associated with identity,
while estar is closely associated with the state of someone or something.
There is a long list for each of these verbs as to when to use each one.
These lists are good, and you have studied them before,
but how can we condense all of this information into something that works,
regardless of the person or thing that we are describing?
Well, how about this as an alternative:
What if we thought of ser as being used when we want to talk about something ‘in general’,
and we thought of using estar as being used when we talk about something ‘at this (or that) moment in time’?
Let’s try this out:
Esta es mi abuela.
En general, mi abuela es baja, simpática, y organizada.
En general, mi abuela es de España.
En general, mi abuela es la madre de mi madre.
PERO…
Ahora mismo, mi abuela está enojada, porque mi hermano se comporta mal.
Ahora mismo, mi abuela está cansada, porque no durmió mucho anoche.
Ahora mismo, mi abuela está en la cocina.
In this way, we are able to condense all of the uses of ser and estar.
Makes sense, right?
Let’s try another one.
¡Las pupusas!
Saying ‘Las pupusas son ricas’ is talking about the dish ‘in general’, the recipe ‘in general'.
Not any specific making of the dish, but the concept in general.
Contrast this with: ‘Las pupusas están ricas.’
Now we are talking about the dish right now, meaning the dish in front of you, or this preparation of the recipe.
Ahora mismo están ricas.
If you keep these two phrases in mind, you will never go wrong with your usage of ser and estar!
So what does this have to do with haber?
Haber has a couple of very different meanings.
One of them we will see later in different videos on the perfect forms.
Generally speaking, it’s an auxiliary verb, or ‘helping verb’.
But it also has a very important function: we use it in the existential construction.
In other words, when we want to say, “there is,” “there are,” “there was,” “there were,” and the like.
This is a very unique usage of this verb, and it doesn’t change form when it is used in this existential form.
In fact, most students make the mistake of trying to use ser or estar in this type of construction, but that is not acceptable.
This comparison and contrast of ser and estar can be difficult to remember; this really does take a lot of practice.
The same is true in remembering to use haber correctly in these existential constructions.
The good news is that we use these verbs all the time!
Easy peasy, right?
If you need more practice, we do have some great resources on our Resources page at LenguaFranca.us.
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¡Hasta pronto! ¡Adiós!