📖LearnModule 15 · Lesson 21 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2 mastery — the capstoneUnit 5 · La gramática de la precisión
Ser y estar, por última vez
Module 15 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C2 mastery — the capstone), lesson 21 of 30: . On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
es aburrido
he is boring
ehs ah-boo-RREE-doh
está aburrido
he is bored
ehs-TAH ah-boo-RREE-doh
es listo
he is clever
ehs LEES-toh
está listo
he is ready
ehs-TAH LEES-toh
la reunión es en el aula
the meeting takes place in the lecture room
lah rreh-oo-NYOHN ehs ehn ehl OW-lah
el aulafeminine — takes el before its stressed a, like el agua
the lecture room
ehl OW-lah
por última vez
one last time
pohr OOL-tee-mah behs
el rendimiento de la verificación
the yield of a check
ehl rrehn-dee-MYEHN-toh deh lah beh-ree-fee-kah-SYOHN
automático
automatic (a habit)
ow-toh-MAH-tee-koh
tú estás listo
you are ready
too ehs-TAHS LEES-toh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Five things still go wrong at C2 and the first is the pair the whole ladder began with. Es aburrido (he is boring) against está aburrido (he is bored). Es listo (clever) against está listo (ready). Es de Lima, está en Lima.
Y también · And also
And the trap that catches advanced learners: an EVENT takes ser for its place — la reunión es en el aula, el examen es a las nueve — because ser says where something happens, and estar where something is.
Ojo · Watch out
An event takes ser for where it happens: la reunión es en el aula. A thing takes estar for where it is: el aula está en el segundo piso. es listo is clever; está listo is ready — the adjective changes meaning with the verb.
estar, presente — the table
yo estoy · tú estás · él/ella/usted está · nosotros estamos · ustedes están · ellos/ellas están
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with es aburrido.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out estar, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.