The verb ser (to be) is used to describe origin (where you are from) and identity (ways you think of yourself). Ser –like all verbs in Spanish – has different forms depending on how it is used.

For now, when you refer to where you are from, you will use "soy". When you refer to where someone else is from, you will use "eres" or "es".

That is, here are some forms of ser:
(yo) soy - I am
(tú) eres - you are
(él) es - he is
(ella) es - she is
(Usted) es - you are (formal)¹

To talk about origin (where people are from), we'll add a de (of, from) after the different forms above. Let's look at some examples.

Examples with (yo) soy:

(yo) Soy de los Estados Unidos.
I’m from the United States.
(yo) Soy de México.
I’m from Mexico.
(yo) Soy de la República Dominicana.
I’m from the Dominican Republic.
(yo) Soy de España.
I’m from Spain.
- más ejemplos de ‘soy’ -

Examples with (tú) eres:

¿De dónde eres (tú)?²
   Where are you from?
Diego, ¿(tú) Eres de Honduras?
Diego, are you from Honduras?
¿(tú) Eres de El Salvador, Javier?³
Are you from El Salvador, Javier?
- más ejemplos de ‘eres’ -

Examples with (él / ella / usted) es:

¿De dónde es usted?
Where are you from? (formal)
¿De dónde es Hugo Chávez?
Where is Hugo Chavez from?
Juan es de Guatemala.
Juan is from Guatemala.
Silvia es de Bolivia.
Silvia is from Bolivia.
- más ejemplos de ‘es’ -

To talk about identity (ways you think of yourself) we could talk about your job, nationality, physical appearance, personality, religion and relationships. Let's look at some examples.

Examples with (yo) soy:

(yo) Soy español.
I am Spanish (and a boy/man)
(yo) Soy española.
I am Spanish (and a girl/woman)⁴
(yo) Soy estudiante.
I'm a student.
(yo) Soy doctor.
I’m a doctor (and a man).⁵
(yo) Soy delgado.
I am thin.
- más ejemplos de ‘soy’ -

Examples with (tú) eres:

¿Cómo eres?
Describe yourself / What are you like?
¿(tú) Eres colombiano?
Are you Colombian (and a boy/man)?
(tú) Eres muy linda.
You are very pretty.
Eres mi mejor amigo.
You are my best friend.
Miguel, ¿Eres cristiano?
MIguel, are you a christian?
- más ejemplos de ‘eres’ -

Examples with (él / ella / usted) es:

¿Cómo es usted?
Describe yourself / What are you like? (formal)
Él es mi hermano.
He is my brother.
Ella es panameña.
She is Panamanan (and a girl/woman)
¿Víctor es policía?⁶
Is Victor a police officer?
María es alta.
María is tall.
- más ejemplos de ‘es’ -

Notes:
1. Just remember that verbs are a little different in Spanish and we don't need the personal pronouns (yo, tú, etc) except for emphasis or if the sentence is confusing without them.
2. To be formal and polite, you could ask someone: "¿De dónde es (usted)?" In Spanish there are two main ways to say "you": tú & usted
3. You might learn in a later lesson that ‘de + el’ gives us “del” kind of like “can” + “not” gives us “can’t” in English. But with names of people or countries, we leave the “de” and “ El” separate.
4. Notice that a lot of times on nationality (American, English, Spanish) we'll add an 'a' on the end if we're describing a female. See below for a list of nationalities of Spanish-speaking countries.
5. To say “female doctor”, we would say “doctora”. So “She is a doctor” would be “Ella es doctora."
6. You can replace él or ella with names of people like in the example.
7. Words that end in 'e' commonly work for both males and females. Examples:
Carlos es costarricense. - Carlos is Costa Rican.

Anita es costarricense. - Anita is Costa Rican.

Basic Vocabulary

Identity - Use Basic Vocabulary

Identity - Use Intermediate Vocabulary

Origin - Use Basic Vocabulary

Video - Identity

Video - Origin