Adjectives which change their meaning with ser or estar
Ser Estar
cansado tiresome, tiring tired
listo clever ready
malo bad ill
bueno good well, tasty (food)
vivo lively, clever alive
aburrido boring bored
divertido amusing amused
fresco cheeky cool (e.g. a drink)
consciente aware conscious [SP]
rico rich tasty [SP]
The above is not intended to be a complete list, but serves to reinforce the
general distinctions made between ser and estar.
Common adjectives predominantly with either ser or estar
1 Ser viejoand ser jovento say someone ‘is old’ or ‘is young’.
Note: Estar with these words would suggest a change of state or condition, or at
least one’s perception of it: Estoy muy viejo para estos trotes‘I’m getting too old
for all this rushing about’. Estar jovenwould similarly suggest that someone ‘looks
young’, for example for their age.
2 Ser fácil/difícil‘to be easy’, ser posible/probable ‘to be possible/prob-
able’, ser evidente ‘to be evident’, ser necesario‘to be necessary’, ser
importante ‘to be important’, ser conveniente ‘to be appropriate’, ser
20.3.4
20.3.3
1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1011
1
12111
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
40
41111
Serand estar
with
adjectives
213
Luis es muy mentiroso. Luis está muy triste.
Luis is a liar. Luis is very sad.
Esta marca de salsa es ¡Qué picante está la
picante. sopa!
This brand of sauce is spicy. The soup is really spicy!
