35 Identifying people, places and things
In this chapter, which deals with identification, you will learn the Spanish equivalent
of phrases such as ‘I am (John)’, ‘this is (my brother)’, ‘who is he/she?’, ‘which is it?’.
The range of phrases used to express these ideas in Spanish is very limited, and by
and large constructions follow patterns which are similar to English.
35.1 Identifying oneself and others
To say who you are or who someone is we use ser, ‘to be’:
Soy Antonio Miranda. I am Antonio Miranda.
Ella es Ana Rodríguez. She is Ana Rodríguez.
Son mis padres. It’s my parents.
22.1 (p. 103); 16.1.2.9 (p. 70)
If the purpose of the identification is to introduce somebody, then ser is usually
preceded by a demonstrative pronoun.
Ésta es mi mujer. This is my wife.
Éste es mi marido. This is my husband.
Éstos son mis hijos. These are my children.
9.1 (p. 40); 29.4 (p. 156)
To ask who someone is, use quién (sg.) or quiénes (pl.) followed by ser:
¿Quién es él? Who is he?
¿Quiénes son? Who are they?
Note that quién and quiénes, like all question words, must carry an accent.
12.8 (p. 51); 1.5 (p. 7)
If you think you know who someone is and you simply want to corroborate this, use
phrases like the following:
¿Es usted el señor Morales? Are you señor Morales?
¿Ése es tu profesor? That is your teacher?
