Today I’m going to teach you one of the most difficult things in Portuguese: when to use SER and ESTAR.
We use SER to describe the how someone or something is always:
We use ESTAR for transitory or not permanent conditions or characteristics, how a thing is at the moment.
That’s why we say, for example:-
– Ele está doente (He’s sick)
– But we can also say…
– Ele é doente (He’s sick)
What’s the difference?
– Ele está doente (He’s a healthy person, but he’s sick at the moment).
– Ele é doente (Probably he has an incurable disease or he’s mentally sick).
– More uses of the verbs ser and estar.
Ser
Nationality
– Eu sou brasileiro (I’m Brazilian)
Ocupation
– Ele é dentista (He’s dentist)
– Personal relationships
– Ele é meu pai (He’s my father)
Permanent location
– A escola é no centro da cidade (The school is the center city)
Estar
Movable location
– Eu estou em casa (I’m at home)
Mental states
– Eu estou feliz (I’m happy)
– Eu estou confuso (I’m confused)
Physical states
– Eu estou doente (I’m sick)
– Eu estou cansado (I’m tired)
