Ser vs. Estar

» El_lindo - Perm/Temp Not Best Model

The common "ser=permanent, estar=temporary" model has some major problems ("esta muerto" to main one glaring one) and doesn't really set up model that's useful in "pre-defining" usage for the speaker. What I generally get people to do is to accept "ser" as INTRINSIC (as in "etre" and "to be") but to become more aware of the nature of "estar". To big related words to keep in mind are "estado" and "estacionar". In other words, "estaring" is a matter or being in a STATE OF or STATIONED. In the first sense, "esta" would mean, "in a state of", which covers all the use for emotions, etc--and including the state of being dead. In the second sense, "esta" means not "is" but "is here". Which is why you can ask somebody "Esta tu mama?" You don't have to say "is your mother HERE", that's implicit in the verb.
Hope this helps somebody. Now for a real puzzle, try to dream up a rule to help Spanish speakers figure out when the English word for "hacer" would be "do" and when it would be "make". A simple grammatic law that will distinguish between "make the bed" and "do the dishes". Good luck.

-- posted by El_lindo

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