Ser and estar are also used with the advanced purpose of acting as auxiliary verbsNo definition set for auxiliary verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. In our previous posts on ser and estar, we learned about the permanent vs. temporary difference of these two verbs, and also about some other uses of ser and estar that don’t necessarily follow this rule. In this post, we will review further uses of ser and estar, such as to express the passive voiceNo definition set for passive voiceLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and to combine with the past participleNo definition set for past participleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. Are you ready? Let’s dive in!
Using the verb ‘ser’ to form the passive voice in Spanish
Ser is used to form the passive voice in Spanish. Although the Spanish passive voice is mostly used in specific contexts, such as formal written language (for example, research reports, news stories, or academic papers), whenever we want to use this construction, we need to use a form of the verb ser, and not estar.
The passive voice is formed with the auxiliary verb ser (in any tense) plus the past participle of the main verb in the active sentence. Let’s look at some examples:
Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|
Los cocineros preparan la comida. The cooks prepare the meal. | La comida es preparada por los cocineros. The meal is prepared by the cooks. |
La arquitecta diseñó el edificio. The architect designed the building. | El edificio fue diseñado por la arquitecta. The building was designed by the architect. |
Do you want to learn the different forms the verb ser can take in the passive voice construction? We have created this list for you. Check it out!
Impersonal expressions and generalizations
We can make impersonal expressionsNo definition set for impersonal expressionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and generalizations with both ser and estar. Impersonal expressions are those where the subject is indeterminate, and we use them to introduce opinions or statements. Let’s read a couple of examples:
Es lamentable tener que cancelar el concierto.
It’s unfortunate to have to cancel the concert.
Está prohibido estacionarse en este lugar.
It’s forbidden to park in this place.
In case you’re wondering about some of the impersonal expressions you can make with the verb ser and estar we’ve prepared another list for you. Some of these impersonal expressions are also very useful when introducing the Spanish subjunctive.
Using the verb ‘estar’ + past participle
To indicate the outcome of an action
We can also use the verb estar along with a past participle (for example: abierto ("open"), comido ("eaten") , bebido ("drunk")) to indicate the outcome of an action or event. Since we’re using the past participles as adjectivesNo definition set for adjectivesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in this particular context, remember we need to make them agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Let’s see some examples below:
La restricción terminó y, cuando salimos, todos los restaurantes estaban abiertos.
The restriction ended and, when we went out, all the restaurants were open.
Nuestra presentación fue todo un éxito. Nosotras estábamos muy sorprendidas.
Our presentation was a success. We were very surprised.
We can use the verb ser with a past participle, but this is exclusive to the passive voice. In the case of estar, we’re not describing the state of a person or object, we’re just describing an action. Let’s compare both possibilities:
ser + past participle | estar + past participle |
|---|
La comida es preparada por los cocineros. The meal is cooked by the chefs. | El salón está decorado para la fiesta. The hall is decorated for the party. |
In the sentence on the left, we’re using
ser to make the passive voice. We’re describing an action and putting emphasis on it (es preparada (" is prepared")). The agent (the person or thing that performs the action) who prepared the food, is not that important and that’s why we don’t emphasize that.
As you can see, in any case it’s very important to make the participles agree with the nouns they modify. The participles behave just like adjectives in Spanish!
To mention the condition of an object
It is also possible to use the verb estar and a past participle to describe the condition of an animal or an object. This use of the verb
estar is aligned with what we already know about temporary events. Let’s see a couple of examples:
Using the verb ‘estar’ + gerund to form the present progressive
Finally, the verb estar is used as the auxiliary verb, along with the gerundNo definition set for gerundLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., to form the Spanish present progressive. This is a tense we use when we want to talk about actions in progress at a time now or around the present. The equivalent in English is when we use the verb “to be” + a verb ending in “-ing” (“I’m running”), but it’s not always used the same way.
Remember that with this construction you need to add the endings -ando or -iendo to the verb, for example: estudiando ("studying") or comiendo ("eating"). Let’s take a look at a few examples:
Tú estás leyendo un artículo en español.
You are reading an article in Spanish.
Mi madre está trabajando en el computador.
My mother is working on the computer.
In summary
Let’s see what we have just learned about the uses of ser and estar as auxiliary verbs:
We can use the verb ser with a past participle to make the passive voice in Spanish. The passive voice is a construction that is highly used in the written formal language, and that places more emphasis on the action itself.
We can use the verb estar with a past participle to indicate the outcome of an action, or to mention the temporary condition of an object.
We can use the verb estar with a gerund to form the present progressive and talk about ongoing actions in the present.
This post marks the end of our series on the uses of ser and estar. We hope you have a better understanding of these tricky Spanish verbs.
Before you leave, we’d like to invite you to work on this exercise to practice the uses of ser and estar covered in this post. Happy learning!
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