Lesson 4. Who are you and where are you from?

The verb ser: soy, eres, es

Ser means “to be.” In this lesson you’ll use three of its forms:

Who	Form	Example
yo — I	soy	Soy Nora. — I’m Nora.
tú — you	eres	¿Eres de Madrid? — Are you from Madrid?
él / ella — he / she	es	Es profesora. — She’s a teacher.

Spanish has a second verb for “to be,” estar. It comes later in the course; for saying who someone is, what they do and where they’re from, you need ser.

You can leave out “I”

The verb form already shows who you mean: soy can only be “I am.” So Spanish speakers usually just say Soy Nora, not Yo soy Nora. Add the pronoun when you want contrast or emphasis: ¿Y tú? — “And you?”

This is the opposite of English, where “am Nora” is impossible. In Spanish, dropping the pronoun is the normal choice.

Note that él (he) has an accent mark, while the article el (the) doesn’t.

Jobs and where you’re from

• Jobs take no article: English says “I’m a student,” Spanish says Soy estudiante. Javier es cocinero.
• Where you’re from: ser de + place: Soy de Irlanda. Lucía es de Madrid.

Many jobs have two forms: el profesor — la profesora, el cocinero — la cocinera. Estudiante has one form, and only the article shows the gender: el estudiante, la estudiante.

Country and city names aren’t word cards here: España (Spain), Irlanda (Ireland), Madrid, Valencia, Dublín. Look up the Spanish name of your own country too.

With adults you don’t know, Spanish speakers often use a formal “you,” usted. You’ll meet it in module 2.