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Translation:
"Hello everyone again and welcome once more to the European Portuguese Podcast. Today I thought I would talk about one of the most common doubts in Portuguese, which is ser or estar. In English there is only one translation, which is “to be” — the verb to be: I am, you are, he is, she is. But in Portuguese we have two verbs that translate to to be.
So, which ones are they? It’s ser or estar. Maybe you have heard this before: “Eu sou.” I am Ana. I am Portuguese. I am a teacher. I am… fun, or, I don’t know, personal characteristics: tall or short, blonde or brunette. So, you’re starting to understand. “Sou”, the verb ser, is more for things that don’t change easily in your life. It’s permanent.
So, it’s used for profession, nationality, and physical characteristics. So, everything else is estar. For example, location and feelings. “I am at home.” “I am tired.” “I am sick.” “I am working.” “I am having lunch with my friends.” So, we use estar a lot. It’s temporary… it changes. It’s temporary. So, we use this one in our daily life for almost everything.
For example, we don’t say: “Portugal is small” using estar. Because… it’s something that is not going to change, at least not easily. So, the correct thing to say would be: “Portugal is small” using ser. It’s something permanent and stable. What else? For example, we don’t say: “Alentejo is beautiful” using estar. Because that would mean it’s beautiful just now, only at this moment. But if we want to say that Alentejo is a beautiful region, then we use the permanent verb. Alentejo is beautiful.
And one last example, to finish, and this one is the funniest. This is a funny one. We don’t say: “I am sick” using ser. Because that would mean that I am permanently a sick person. It could even mean something more mental or chronic. “I’m a sick person.” So, this can cause some confusion. The correct thing to say is: “I am sick” using estar.
So, I am Portuguese, but I am in Portugal. Or I am healthy, but I am sick. I am a teacher and I am working. So, I think this helps you understand it more or less. So, ser is permanent and estar is more for temporary situations.
Ok. I think I’ve been talking for a few minutes now. I’ll stop here. Thank you for listening. And that’s all for now."
By AnaTranslation:
"Hello everyone again and welcome once more to the European Portuguese Podcast. Today I thought I would talk about one of the most common doubts in Portuguese, which is ser or estar. In English there is only one translation, which is “to be” — the verb to be: I am, you are, he is, she is. But in Portuguese we have two verbs that translate to to be.
So, which ones are they? It’s ser or estar. Maybe you have heard this before: “Eu sou.” I am Ana. I am Portuguese. I am a teacher. I am… fun, or, I don’t know, personal characteristics: tall or short, blonde or brunette. So, you’re starting to understand. “Sou”, the verb ser, is more for things that don’t change easily in your life. It’s permanent.
So, it’s used for profession, nationality, and physical characteristics. So, everything else is estar. For example, location and feelings. “I am at home.” “I am tired.” “I am sick.” “I am working.” “I am having lunch with my friends.” So, we use estar a lot. It’s temporary… it changes. It’s temporary. So, we use this one in our daily life for almost everything.
For example, we don’t say: “Portugal is small” using estar. Because… it’s something that is not going to change, at least not easily. So, the correct thing to say would be: “Portugal is small” using ser. It’s something permanent and stable. What else? For example, we don’t say: “Alentejo is beautiful” using estar. Because that would mean it’s beautiful just now, only at this moment. But if we want to say that Alentejo is a beautiful region, then we use the permanent verb. Alentejo is beautiful.
And one last example, to finish, and this one is the funniest. This is a funny one. We don’t say: “I am sick” using ser. Because that would mean that I am permanently a sick person. It could even mean something more mental or chronic. “I’m a sick person.” So, this can cause some confusion. The correct thing to say is: “I am sick” using estar.
So, I am Portuguese, but I am in Portugal. Or I am healthy, but I am sick. I am a teacher and I am working. So, I think this helps you understand it more or less. So, ser is permanent and estar is more for temporary situations.
Ok. I think I’ve been talking for a few minutes now. I’ll stop here. Thank you for listening. And that’s all for now."