SCENARIO
Imagine
you are with a relative, a friend or a colleague. You are talking
about clothing/ garments. The other person points to the coat you are
wearing and says to you something like: "tell me, is that a
fur coat?".
In
Spanish, he/ she could choose to be less formal and say to you:
Dime,
¿ese abrigo es de piel?
On the
other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say to you:
Dígame,
¿ese abrigo es de piel?
OUR
TIP
The question is an
invitation for you to state the material an item of clothing is made
of. When you say what an item of clothing is made of, you DO NOT
need to be concerned about the level of formality in the other
person's question. Your main concern should be about communicating
what material the item in question is made of. In this particular
case, your answer could be a straightforward yes/ no. However, with
little additional effort your answer could be much more informative.
Here
are some examples of how you could reply:
Sí,
este abrigo
es de*
piel (yes,
this is a fur coat);
No,
este abrigo no
es de*
piel (no,
this is not a fur coat);
No,
este abrigo no
es de*
piel, es
de*
piel sintética (no,
this is not a fur coat, it is a fake fur/ faux fur coat);
Now you should
practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime,
¿ese abrigo es de piel?
*Please
see grammar below
Grammar-”Ser”
The
English verb to be has two corresponding verbs in Spanish,
“ser” and “estar”. When to use “ser”
and when to use “estar” often causes some confusion
amongst learners of Spanish. This post deals with the uses of “ser”.
A separate series of blog posts is dedicated to the uses of “estar”.
In
this post we look at a number of situations in which “ser”
is commonly used. “ser” is commonly used in the following
cases:
1.
Generic Characteristics
We commonly use
“ser” with generic describing words/ adjectives. That is,
“ser” is used to refer to characteristics which are
considered an inseparable part of the nature of a person or thing. It
is perhaps for this reason why it is often said that “ser”
should be used to describe permanent* features of a person or thing.
*NB
It should be noted that permanent does not mean unchangeable. A good
example of this is a person's nationality. A person's nationality may
change with time. In some cases you may even end up with more than
one nationality. What permanent means is that a nationality is
something that you will always have. Something similar can be said
about other generic characteristics such as: gender, colour,
religion, race/ ethnicity, and other general
characteristics such as the ones referred to by adjectives such as
large, small, tall, short, etc.
2.
Origin
We commonly use
“ser” to indicate the origin of someone or something. That
is, “ser” is used to refer to the place someone or
something originates/ comes from.
3.
Professions/ Occupations
We
commonly use “ser”
with describing words/ adjectives which indicate the profession/
occupation of someone. That is, “ser”
is used to describe what someone does by way of occupation/
profession/ other activities.
*NB
Please note that the English preposition “a” is omitted in
Spanish.
4.
Ownership/ Possession
We
commonly use “ser”
to indicate ownership/ possession. That is, “ser”
is used to link owners to their possessions.
5.
Support/ Following
We
commonly use “ser”
to indicate following/ support. That is, “ser”
is commonly used to indicate the team someone supports.
6.
Material
We
commonly use “ser”
to indicate the material something is made of. That is, “ser”
is commonly used to describe things in terms of the material they are
made of.
7.
The Time
We
commonly use “ser”
to ask and give the time.
8.
Passive Voice Constructions
Passive
voice constructions, although perhaps less common in Spanish than
they are in English, are nonetheless very similar in both languages.
In Spanish, “ser”
is used as an auxiliary verb in some passive voice constructions.
9.
Where
We
commonly use “ser”
to indicate the whereabouts of an event. That is, “ser”
is commonly used to indicate where something takes place.
10.
When
We
commonly use “ser”
to indicate the time of an event. That is, “ser”
is commonly used to indicate when something takes place.
Now
you should practise the uses of “ser” with some examples
of your own.
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