New Rules for Ser and Estar
Author(s): Frederick S. Spurr
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Oct., 1939), p. 43
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers
Associations
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/317572 .
Accessed: 23/01/2012 15:24
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New Rulesfor Ser and Estar
FREDERICKS. SPURR
BlewettHigh School,St. Louis, Missouri
AS
a result of many years' experiencein teaching Spanish to high
school students,the authorhas foundone fundamentaldefectin all
textbooksthat have come to his notice in the treatmentof the verbs ser
and estar.This is that all such textsconveythe mistakenimpressionthat
the pupil should primarilybase his decisionas to which verb to employ
on the degree of permanencyinvolved. Yet it is clear that the verb ser
mustbe used in such sentencesas "I am a teacher,"whetherI am a teacher
of long standingor substitutingfora briefwhileonly.Likewise,one must
employthe verb estarin such sentencesas "Johnis in the city,"regardless
of the lengthof John'ssojourn.
The followingrules have been foundto obviate this difficulty
and to
be nearer "fool-proof"than any with which the writerhas been made
acquainted in the textbooks:
Rule One.-Always writethe properformof ser to translateany form
oftheEnglishverbbewhenfollowedby a nounor pronounin thepredicate;
e.g., Mi padre es abogado.Soy yo.
Rule Two.-Always use the properformof estarto translateany form
of the English verb be to expresslocation or position;e.g., Estamosen la
escuela.
Rule Three.-When neitherRule One nor Rule Two will apply, use ser
to express relativelypermanentor inherentideas, and estar to express
relativelytemporaryor accidental ideas: e.g., Mi hermanoes grande.Mi
amigoestdenfermo.
It can be readilyshownthat all rulesgiven elsewhereforser and estar
can be condensedand classifiedunderthesethreerules.
43