Written by Maria Fernandez

In my previous article we saw that there are many everyday idioms and expressions in Spanish with the verb 'estar'. Here I'm going to give you ten useful expressions with the verb 'ser', together with their translation and examples.

In the Lesson 2 dialog, for example, you can hear:

¿de dónde eres?

'Ser de' means 'to be from'. Expressions with the verb 'ser' generally refer to permanent situations, activities or states of mind, rather than temporary ones, as you can see in the expressions below.

There are many expression with 'ser' that are followed by an adjective or describing word, for instance:

ser más listo que el hambre - to be razor sharp

In those expressions the describing word has to agree with the person or thing it describes. Compare these two sentences:

mi nieto es más listo que el hambre - my grandson is razor sharp

mis nietas son más listas que el hambre my granddaughters are razor sharp

To find out more about how describing words work in Spanish, go the grammar movies in Lessons 6, 7, 12 and 13.

Here are ten useful Spanish idioms and expressions with 'ser', as well as their English translation and examples:

ser de (+ a place) - to be from

ser amigo de - to be a friend of, to be fond of

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