LinguaWhat you can already do
You now have three verbs for “to be”. ser says what someone or something is: identity, job, origin, character, time, material, and where an event takes place. estar says how or where someone or something is right now: states, feelings, estar com fome, the weather, the place of people and things. ficar says where a building or a city is.
| Use | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| job, origin, character | ser | Ela é médica, de Natal. |
| time, date, material | ser | São oito horas. |
| where an event takes place | ser | O jogo é no estádio. |
| state, feeling, health | estar | Estou nervosa. |
| weather | estar | Está frio. |
| where a person or thing is now | estar | O Leo está no banco. |
| where a building or city is | ficar | O hotel fica na praia. |
O Rafael é médico, mas hoje está doente.Rafael is a doctor, but today he is ill.
Same adjective, two meanings
With ser, an adjective describes the nature of someone or something; with estar, the state at this moment. A Lúcia é calma – she is a calm person. A Lúcia está calma – she is calm now, perhaps after a scare. O Leo é chato – he is a boring person. O Leo está chato – he is being a pain today.
A Lúcia é muito calma, mas hoje está nervosa.Lúcia is a very calm person, but today she’s nervous.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ser | to be | Nós somos de Porto Alegre. We are from Porto Alegre. |
| estar | to be (state, location) | A Júlia está no Japão este mês. Júlia is in Japan this month. |
| simpático | nice, friendly | A recepcionista é muito simpática. The receptionist is very friendly. |
| a médica | doctor (female) | A médica pede um exame de sangue. The doctor orders a blood test. |
| o prédio | building | O prédio novo tem vinte andares. The new building has twenty floors. |
| cansado | tired | Você parece cansado. Dormiu mal? You look tired. Did you sleep badly? |
| com fome | hungry | Estou com fome, vamos almoçar? I’m hungry, shall we have lunch? |
| pronto | ready | O relatório está pronto para amanhã. The report is ready for tomorrow. |
| a festa | party, celebration | Você vai à festa da empresa? Are you going to the company party? |
| ficar (lugar) | to be (located) | O restaurante fica em frente à praça. The restaurant is opposite the square. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Lucas was born in Fortaleza. Which sentence says where he is from?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.