⇒ Learning the differences between ser and estar is often quite challenging for learners of Spanish

⇒ After reading these notes, you'll have a good handle on the first of these tricky pairs

⇒ Review Time: if you're not sure how to conjugate these two important verbs (they're irregular), check out the verb conjugation tables for ser and estar.

⇒ Ser is used to talk about permanent or lasting attributes.

⇒ If this general rule is too vague for you, think of the acronym DOCTOR, which stands for Descriptions, Occupations, Characteristics, Time, Origin, and Relationships

⇒ Let's take a look at each of the above categories individually.

⇒ Descriptions are the essential qualities that define a person or thing and probably won’t change anytime soon.

⇒ These descriptions can be names, physical descriptions, nationalities, and even religions

⇒ Find more on using ser with descriptions here!

⇒ An occupation is what someone does for a living or as a hobby.

⇒ Basically, if you're talking about how someone makes money or fills their time, you'll use ser.

⇒ Notice that the indefinite articles un, una, unos, and unas are not used when talking about occupations with ser.

⇒ Characteristics are personality descriptions of a person.

⇒ This category is included to hammer home the point that ser is used to talk about descriptions.

⇒ Time can refer to days, dates, years, and the time on the clock.

⇒ Find more on using ser with time here!

⇒ The place a person or thing is from or the material something is made of can be considered an origin.

⇒ Personal relationships, such as family ties, friendship, and romantic relationships, are also talked about using ser.

⇒ Find more on using ser with origins here!

⇒ Estar is used to indicate temporary states and locations.

⇒ If that general rule doesn’t suffice, there are two acronyms that you can think of, PLACE and LoCo.

⇒ PLACE stands for Position, Location, Action, Condition, and Emotion.

⇒ LoCo stands for Locations and Conditions.

⇒ Let's look at PLACE now...

⇒ Position refers to the physical position or posture a person or thing is in.

⇒ The location of someone or something describes where it is permanently, temporarily, or conceptually.

⇒ Exception! The location of an event or party is described using ser, not estar:

• La fiesta es en mi casa = The party is at my house.

⇒ Find more on using estar with locations here!

⇒ Estar is used to describe ongoing actions and is often followed by a present participle (such as lavando) or a past participle (such as muerto)

⇒ Intriguingly, death in Spanish is seen as an ongoing action, not a permanent state, so estar is used to talk about being dead.

⇒ Physical and mental conditions are described using estar.

⇒ Things that are likely to vary over several hours, days, or even years can be fall into this category.

⇒ Find more on using estar with conditions here!

⇒ How a person is feeling at a certain moment is described using estar.

⇒ There are some words that can be used with both ser and estar to form verb phrases, and these take on different meanings depending on the verb. Here are some examples of these types of phrases.