ser and estar with adjectives
With adjectives, ser describes what something is like by nature, and estar how it is at the moment or how it looks to you now. Some adjectives change their meaning completely with the verb.
| adjective | with ser | with estar |
|---|---|---|
| bonito | is beautiful (by nature) | looks beautiful (today) |
| chato | is boring, annoying (a person) | is annoyed, bored |
| vivo | is lively, clever | is alive |
| pronto | – | is ready |
| frio / quente | is cold / hot by nature (o gelo é frio) | is cold / hot now (o café está frio) |
| morto | – | is dead (estar morto, also ser morto = be killed) |
Rules of thumb
- States that result from a change take estar: está cansado, está grávida, está morto, está pronto, está quebrado.
- With people, estar + adjective often means “look”: Você está linda! (You look beautiful).
- Marital status can take both: sou casado (stating your status) / estou casado há dez anos.
- ficar + adjective describes the change itself: ficou pronto, ficou cansado.
Examples
- O meu irmão é muito chato.My brother is really annoying.
- Hoje eu estou chato com tudo.Today everything is annoying me.
- O jantar está pronto!Dinner is ready!
- Essa sopa está salgada.This soup is (too) salty.
- A Maria é muito viva.Maria is very lively.
- O peixe ainda está vivo.The fish is still alive.
Common mistakes
- ✗ Ele é doente hoje.✓ Ele está doente hoje.Being ill today is a temporary state, so it takes estar; ser doente would mean chronically ill, which clashes with hoje, while English “he is ill” covers both.
- ✗ Eu sou pronto.✓ Eu estou pronto.pronto (ready) is a state you reach, so it always takes estar; English “I am ready” gives no clue.
- ✗ Você é muito bonita hoje!✓ Você está muito bonita hoje!With hoje the speaker means how she looks today, which is estar; ser would describe her permanent appearance.
- ✗ Minha irmã é grávida.✓ Minha irmã está grávida.Pregnancy is a temporary state, so it takes estar; English “is pregnant” uses the same verb as for permanent traits.
- ✗ Esse café é frio.✓ Esse café está frio.A particular cup that has cooled down takes estar; é frio would describe a kind of coffee that is cold by nature.