To be, or not to be? Let’s start out with one of the most important verbs in Spanish: ser, which means “to be.”

Presentación del tema: "To be, or not to be? Let’s start out with one of the most important verbs in Spanish: ser, which means “to be.”"— Transcripción de la presentación:

1 To be, or not to be? Let’s start out with one of the most important verbs in Spanish: ser, which means “to be.”

2 To be, or not to be… Look at the English forms of this verb: I am, you are, he is, she is, we are, they are This verb doesn’t follow an expected pattern; in other words, it’s irregular.

3 Ser, o no ser… The Spanish verb ser is also irregular. ser = to be
yo soy = I am tú eres = you are él es = he is ella es = she is usted es = you are nosotros/as somos = we are vosotros/as sois = you (all) are (Spain) ellos son = they are ellas son = they are ustedes son = you (all) are

4 ¡Atención! Unlike English, Spanish sentences do not always require a subject. Why not? The Spanish verb always gives us enough information about the subject, so we know who we are talking about. For now, I want you to mention the subject or pronoun of the sentence before ser.

5 An example, please! Soy de Chicago.
Soy is paired up with yo, so we know that the speaker is talking about him/herself.

6 And in English? English verbs by themselves don’t carry enough information to tell us who the speaker is talking about: “Am from Chicago” is pretty ambiguous!

7 Trust me on this one! All Spanish verbs change, but fortunately there are predictable patterns. The verb ser just happens to be the most irregular verb in the language. That’s a tough way to start!

8 So let’s practice! Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to complete the following sentences with the correct for of the verb ser.

9 La forma correcta de “ser”
Yo ______ estudiante.

10 The envelope, please… Yo soy estudiante.

11 May I have another, please?
Tú _____ estudiante.

12 The envelope, please! Tú eres estudiante.

13 I’m still hungry! Mi mamá _____ de México, mi papá ____ de Nicaragua, y yo _____ de Chicago. Nosotros _______ americanos.

14 Is that your final answer?
Mi mamá es de México, mi papá es de Nicaragua, y yo soy de Chicago. Nosotros somos americanos.

15 To wrap it up… Here are those forms again: yo soy tú eres él es
ella es usted es nosotros/as somos vosotros/as sois ellos son ellas son ustedes son