10 Ser Conjugation Charts For Every Tense in Spanish

10 Ser Conjugation Charts For Every Tense in Spanish SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips One of the hardest parts of learning a romance language- especially one like Spanish- is verb conjugation. In Spanish, the way a verb is conjugated depends on a number of factors, including the subject, the verb tense, and the purpose of the sentence itself. That means that there are actually many versions of each verb, all of which mean something slightly different. And because so much of understanding Spanish revolves around verbs, it’s an important (though pretty confusing) part of learning Spanish as a second language. If you’re taking the AP Spanish exam, ser is one of the most critical verbs that you need to know- and know how to conjugate. Unfortunately, the conjugations for ser can be pretty tricky. But we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll give you every possible verb conjugation for the Spanish verb ser, which means â€Å"to be.† We’ll even give you a quick rundown on what ser means and when to use it! So†¦  ¡si estan listos, vamos! It's time to do like Dora and "Come on, vamanos!"Loren Javier/Flickr Every Single Ser Conjugation Chart We’ve broken down every conjugation of ser by verb tense and form! Scroll down until you see the heading for the verb tense you need, then check out the corresponding chart below. Present Indicative Yo soy Nosotros somos Tà º eres Vosotros sois Usted/El/Ella es Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas son Imperfect Indicative Yo era Nosotros à ©ramos Tà º eras Vosotros erais Usted/El/Ella era Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas eran Preterite Indicative Yo fui Nosotros fuimos Tà º fuiste Vosotros fuisteis Usted/El/Ella fue Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas fueron Future Indicative Yo serà © Nosotros seremos Tà º sers Vosotros serà ©is Usted/El/Ella ser Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas sern Conditional Yo serà ­a Nosotros serà ­amos Tà º serà ­as Vosotros serà ­ais Usted/El/Ella serà ­a Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas serà ­an Present Subjunctive Yo sea Nosotros seamos Tà º seas Vosotros seis Usted/El/Ella sea Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas sean Imperative or Command Yo - - Nosotros seamos Tà º sà © Vosotros sed Usted/El/Ella sea Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas sean Imperfect Subjunctive Note that there are two conjugations for the imperfect subjunctive. In Spanish, these conjugation forms can be used interchangeably! Yo fuera Nosotros fuà ©ramos Tà º fueras Vosotros fuerais Usted/El/Ella fuera Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas fueran Yo fuese Nosotros fuà ©semos Tà º fueses Vosotros fueseis Usted/El/Ella fuese Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas fuesen All Perfect Tenses A quick note: there are multiple perfect tenses, including the pluperfect, preterite perfect, future perfect, conditional perfect, and present perfect subjunctive, and pluperfect subjunctive. When using these forms, the construction is always as follows: Conjugation of haber + sido You’ll conjugate haber in whatever form accompanies the perfect tense. For example, if you’re using the future perfect, you’ll conjugate haber in future tense! Yo sido Nosotros sido Tà º sido Vosotros sido Usted/El/Ella sido Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas sido Dad joke of the day: "Ser" means "to be," not "two bees" Meaning and Usage of Ser As we mentioned earlier, ser means â€Å"to be† in Spanish. But if you’re studying Spanish, you know that there’s a second verb that means â€Å"to be† as well: estar. (We’ll talk about estar in another article, so you don’t need to worry about it now.) Additionally, ser is an irregular verb. That means it doesn’t follow the normal patterns of conjugations that a regular verb- ike hablar (to speak) or vivir (to live)- do. Unfortunately, there’s no easy tip, trick, or formula to help you nail the ser conjugation each and every time. The only way to make sure you know the ser conjugations is to memorize them. So how do you know when to use ser? In general, ser is used to talk about what something is. You can think of ser as a way to talk about a thing’s permanent state or a set of characteristics that don’t change. To show you how this works, here are examples of situations that require you to use ser: Time and Date If you’re talking about a specific time (on a clock) or calendar date, you should use ser. Example: Hoy es Martes.Today is Tuesday. Example: Son las dos. It’s two o’clock. Place of Origin and Nationality Whenever you’re talking about someone’s home country, state, or where they were born, use a ser conjugation. Example: Claudio es puertorriqueà ±o. Claudio is Puerto Rican. Example: El es de Alemania.He is from Germany. Occupation or Profession Use the appropriate version of ser when speaking about a person’s job, profession, or occupation. Example: Mi abuela era doctora en Chile. My grandmother was a doctor in Chile. Example: Adela es arquitecta.Adela is an architect. Religious or Political Affiliation Use ser when you’re talking about someone’s religion or the political party they belong to. Example: El presidente de los estados unidos es republicano. The president of the United States is Republican. Example: Martin es un cristiano, entonces à ©l quiere ir a una colegio cristiano.Martin is a Christian, so he wants to go to a Christian college. What Something Is Made Of When describing what something is made of, use ser. If you’re discussing how something is made, you’ll need to use a verb like hacer (to make) instead. Example: La bicicleta es de metal. The bicycle is made of metal. Example: Los boletos son de papel.The tickets are made of paper. Possession When you’re talking about what something belongs to, use ser. This is how you indicate ownership! Example: Mitzi es la perra de Miguel. Mitzi is Miguel’s dog. Example: Esos libros fueron del seà ±or Villareal.Those books belonged to Mr. Villareal. Permanent Relationships of One Person to Another Use ser to indicate how people are related to one another. Example: Ella es la amiga de Laura. She is Laura’s friend Example: Seà ±ora Mariz es la mam de Juan.Mrs. Mariz is Juan’s mother. Where an Event Is Taking Place Use a ser conjugation to talk about the time and location of a specific event. Example: La conferencia es a las siete en la noche. The conference is at seven p.m. Example: La pasada copa del mundo fue en Rusia.The last World Cup was in Russia. Essential Characteristics of People and Things When deciding between ser and estar to talk about characteristics, use ser when you’re talking about permanent, unchanging, and/or essential traits of a person or item. Example: Colombia es un paà ­s grande. Colombia is a big country. Example: Josà © y Clara son amables.Josà © and Clara are friendly. Generalizations If you’re talking in large generalities, use a ser conjugation. Example: La prueba fue muy difà ­cil. The test was very difficult. Example:  ¡Es fabuloso viajar!It’s fabulous to travel! What's Next? If you’re preparing for the AP Spanish exam, that’s great! You might also look into other classes that offer AP exams in order to maximize your college credit and weighted GPA. Wondering what a good AP score is for the AP Spanish exam? Here’s a list of the average AP scores for every AP test! One of the tricky bits about AP tests is that it’s hard to know when to start studying for them. You’re taking the AP class, after all! Here’s a handy guide to help you figure out the best time to start studying for the AP Spanish test on your own. (Spoiler alert: you do have to study for AP tests outside of the classroom, too!)