Ser Conjugation: How to Conjugate “To Be” in Spanish

The Spanish verb ser means “to be” and is an essential verb for all beginner students. The conjugation of ser in the present tense is: Yo soy (I am), tú eres (you are), él/ella/usted es (he, she is; you are), nosotros somos (we are), vosotros sois (you are) and ellos/ellas/usted son (they, you are).

Ser is an irregular ER verb. This means that both its stem and endings when conjugated in the present tense are different than other regular ER verbs. This page on our site covers Spanish ER verbs in detail.

In Spanish, there are two verbs for “to be”: ser and estar. The language uses ser to describe qualities which can be assumed to be permanent, such as relationships between people, nationalities, religions, profession, physical traits, etc.

The verb estar is used to describe temporary states, such as location and emotions. This page on our site covers the differences between ser vs. estar in detail. The page also covers the many usages of ser in detail.

This page on our site covers estar conjugation charts in detail and provides many example sentences.

On this page we provide conjugation charts for ser in ten major verb tenses.

• Present tense (presente de indicativo)
• Progressive present (presente progresivo)
• Near future (futuro inmediato)
• Future tense (futuro)
• Preterite (pretérito)
• Present perfect indicative (perfecto de indicativo)
• Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)
• Conditional (potential simple)
• Present subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)
• Imperative mood (imperativo)

Ser conjugation table

Forms of ser at a glance

The following graphic covers the verb ser in twelve tenses in the first-person singular (yo) form.

Ser conjugation charts

Present tense (presente de indicativo)

In the present tense, yo soy translates to “I am”. As mentioned above, Spanish uses ser for nationalities, professions, religions and physical characteristics.

yo soy	I am	Yo soy mexicano.	I am Mexican.
tú eres	you are	Tú eres mi amigo.	You are my friend.
él/alla, usted es	he/she is, you are	Ella es española.	She is Spanish.
nosotros somos	we are	Nosotros somos médicos.	We are doctors.
vosotros sois	you are	Vosotros sois cristianos.	You are Christian.
ellos/ellas, ustedes son	they/you are	Ellos son rubios.	They are blond.

The following graphic covers ser in the first-person singular (yo) form for twelve verb tenses.

Progressive present (presente progresivo)

The progressive present combines the present tense of estar (also to be) with the present participle. Yo estoy siendo translates to “I am being”.

yo estoy siendo	I am being	Yo estoy siendo sincero.	I am being sincere.
tú estás siendo	you are being	Tú estás siendo fiel.	You are being faithful.
él/ella, usted está siendo	he/she is being; you are being	Él está siendo justo.	He is being fair.
nosotros estamos siendo	we are being	Nosotros estamos siendo impulsivos.	We are being impulsive.
vosotros estáis siendo	you are being	Vosotros estáis siendo bobos.	You are being silly.
ellos/ellas, ustedes están siendo	they/you are being	Ellos están siendo simpáticos.	They are being nice.,

Near future (futuro inmediato)

The near future tense uses the following construction: Present tense of ir (to be) + preposition a + infinitive. Yo voy a ser translates to “I am going to be”.

yo voy a ser	I'm going to be	Yo voy a ser un millonario.	I'm going to be a millionaire.
tú vas a ser	you're going to be	Tú vas a ser mi esposa.	You're going to be my wife.
él/ella, usted va a ser	he/she is going to be; you are going to be	Él va a ser un buen empleado.	He's going to be a good employee.
nosotros vamos a ser	we're going to be	Vamos a ser honestos.	We're going to be honest.
vosotros vais a ser	you're going to be	Vosotros vais a ser puntuales.	You're going to be on time.
ellos/ellas, ustedes van a ser	they/you're going to be	Ellos van a ser orgullosos.	They're going to be proud.

Future tense (futuro)

In the future tense, yo seré translates to “I will be”.

yo seré	I will be	Yo seré tu amigo.	I will be your friend.
tú serás	you will be	Tú serás un buen empleado.	You will be a good employee.
él/ella, usted será	he/she/you will be	Ella será nuestra jefa.	She will be our boss.
nosotros seremos	we will be	Nosotros seremos sus colegas.	We will be your colleagues.
vosotros seréis	you will be	Vosotros seréis nuestros ayudantes.	You will be our helpers.
ellos/ellas, ustedes serán	they/you will be	Ellos serán los voluntario.	They will be the volunteers.

Preterite (pretérito)

The preterite is a commonly used past tense used to express past events which occurred at defined times. Yo fui translates to “I was”.

yo fui	I was	Yo fui vendedor de zapatos.	I was a shoes salesman.
tú fuiste	you were	Tú fuiste el director.	You were the manager.
él/ella, usted fue	He/she was; you were	Él fue el jefe de la empresa.	He was the company's boss.
nosotros fuimos	we were	Nosotros fuimos amigos íntimos.	We were good friends.
vosotros fuisteis	you were	Vosotros fuisteis en España un vez.	You were in Spain once.
ellos/ellas, ustedes fueron	they/you were	Ellos fueron juntos durante cinq años.	They were together for five years.

Present perfect indicative (perfecto de indicativo)

The present perfect indicative tense combines the present tense of haber (to have) with the past participle. The present perfect is used to describe past actions which have a bearing on the present. Yo he sido translates to “I have been”.

yo he sido	I have been	Yo he sido un buen estudiante.	I have been a good student.
tú has sido	You have been	Tú has sido mi amigo desde hace muchos años.	You've been my friend for many years.
él/ella, usted ha sido	He/she has been; you have been	Él ha side un modelo a seguir por todos.	He has been a role model for everybody.
nosotros hemos sido	We have been	Nosotros hemos sido competidor en el mismo sector.	We've been competitors in the same industry.
vosotros habéis sido	You have been	Vosotros habéis sido un poco provocadores.	You've been a bit provocative.
ellos/ellas, ustedes han sido	They/you have been	Ellos han sido muy generosos con los recién llegados.	They've been very generous with the newcomers.

Imperfect (imperfecto de indicativo)

The imperfect tense is used to express past actions which used to happen over time. Yo era translates to “I was” and “I used to be”.

yo era	I was, used to be	Cuando era niño, esquiaba con mi hermana.	When I was a child I used to ski with my sister.
tú eras	you were, used to be	Tú eras un chico muy chistoso.	You were a very funny boy.
él/ella, usted era	he/she was, used to be; you were, used to be	Ella era una estudiante muy inteligente.	She was a very intelligent student.
nosotros éramos	we were, used to be	Nosotros éramos colegas en la misma empresa.	We used to be coworkers in the same company.
vosotros erais	you were, used to be	Vosotros erais compañero de clase en la secundaria.	You were classmates in middle school.
ellos/ellas, ustedes	they/you were, used to be	Ellos eran vecino en el barrio antiguo.	They were neighbors in the old neighborhood.

Conditional (potential simple)

The conditional is used to express hypothetical actions. Yo sería translates to “I would be’.

yo sería	I would be	Yo sería profesor si fuera más inteligente.	I'd be a teacher if I were smarter.
tú serías	you would be	Tú serías papá si tuvieras una esposa.	You'd be a dad if you had a wife.
él/ella, usted sería	he/she/you would be	Él sería rico si fuera más laborioso.	He's be rich if he were more industrious.
nosotros seríamos	we would be	Nosotros seríamos más felices si viviéramos al campo.	We'd be happier if we lived in the countryside.
vosotros seríais	you would be	Vosotros seríais en forma si hicierais más ejercicio.	You'd be in shape if you exercised more.
ellos/ellas, ustedes	they/you would be	Ellos serían dispuesto si tuvieran un poco más tiempo.	They'd be ready if they had a bit more time.

Present subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

The subjunctive mood is used for expressing wishes, emotions and doubts. Yo sea translates to “I am” or “I be”.

yo sea	I am	Es importante que sea muy atento.	It's important that I be very vigilant.
tú seas	you are	Queremos que seas más responsable.	We want you to be more accountable.
él, ella, usted sea	He/she is; you are	Es posible que él sea la persona adecuada.	It's possible that he might be the right person.
nosotros seamos	we are	Él quiere que seamos listos en una hora.	He wants us to be ready in one hour.
vosotros seáis	you are	Necesito vosotros seáis más atentos.	I need you to be more attentive.
ellos/ellas, ustedes sean	they/you are	Estoy feliz que ellos sean tanto dispuestos a ayudar.	I'm happy they're so willing to help.

Imperative (imperativo)

The imperative mood is used for giving commands and strong suggestions. The following chart only shows the conjugation of ser in the imperative. We’ve included sample sentences below chart.

	Affirmative Command		Negative Command
tú	¡sé!	Be!	¡no seas!	Don't be!
usted	¡sea!	Be!	¡no sea!	Don't be!
nosotros	¡seamos!	Let's be!	¡no seamos!	Let's not be!
vosotros	¡sed!	Be!	¡no seáis!	Don't be!
ustedes	¡sean!	Be!	¡no sean!	Don't be!

Examples:

• ¡Sé paciente! Be patient!
• ¡No seas celoso! Don’t be jealous!
• ¡Seamos cuidadoso! Let’s be careful!
• ¡no sean estúpidos! Don’t be stupid!

Discover more:

• Ir (to go) conjugation tables
• Tener (to have) conjugation tables
• Hablar (to speak) conjugation tables