Ser vs Estar: Quizzes in Present and Past Tense to Boost Your Fluency (2024)

Ser vs Estar, what’s the deal with these Spanish verbs that create so much stress for new learners of the language?

Here at the Homeschool Spanish Academy blog, we have discussed the ser vs estar situation in a series of posts. One of them even focuses on All the ways to say “I am” in Spanish, which details the peculiarities of these two verbs.

Let’s take a closer look at the present and past tenses conjugations of ser vs estar. Keep reading for a quick guide to ser and estar, as well as a couple of mini-quizzes to test your new knowledge.

Enjoy the ride!

Ser vs Estar: Present Tense

The present tense is probably the most common conjugation and a good place to start learning a new language. However, there isn’t just one present tense but three, and, to complicate matters more, three different moods, too: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. For now, we’ll just focus on the simple present of indicative.

Ser Present Tense

You have to use the simple present in the indicative mood in Spanish when talking about habitual activities, general truths, set future events, current actions, events in the near future, “if” clauses, passing of time, and ordering food and drinks.

Now, ser is an irregular verb, which means that it doesn’t follow the same conjugation rules as most verbs. Check out the conjugation chart for ser in the simple present indicative tense:

Estar Present Tense

Just like ser, the Spanish verb estar is also an irregular verb, and its conjugations are quite unique.

It’s important to remember when to use ser vs estar. Ser is reserved for permanent states and it’s used for descriptions, time, origin, occupation, and possession, whereas estar expresses temporary states such as ongoing actions, emotions, location, position, and physical conditions.

Present Tense Quiz

Fill in the blank with the right verb and its respective conjugation.

1. __________ esperando en la fila. – I’m waiting in line.

2. ¿Y tú quién __________ ? – And who are you?

3. ___________ afuera de tu casa. – We are outside your house.

4. ___________ tu familia. – We are your family.

5. Carla te __________ esperando. – Carla is waiting for you.

Answer Key

1. Estoy
2. eres
3. Estamos
4. Somos
5. está

Ser vs Estar: Past Tense

Just as with the present tense, the Spanish past tense has some variations. The past in Spanish includes the past simple also known as the pretérito, the past imperfect, the past continuous, and the past perfect.

For the purposes of this ser vs estar post, let’s focus on the pretérito and the imperfecto, which are the most frequently used past tenses in Spanish.

Ser Past Tense

You use the pretérito of the verb ser when you want to talk about what you were at a certain point in the past. Then, you have to use the imperfecto for actions that repeatedly or continually took place in the past.

Let’s take a look at the past tense conjugation chart for ser:

Estar Past Tense

Remember, use ser to talk about what you were in the past. Estar is about where you were or what you were doing in the past.

Past Tense Quiz

Fill in the blank with the right verb and its respective conjugation.

1. Nosotros __________ los mejores. – We were the best.

2. Ellos __________ conmigo todo el día. – They were with me all day.

3. ___________ tú quien rompió las reglas. – You were the one who broke the rules.

4. Ella ___________ aquí hace un momento. – She was here a moment ago.

5. Tú __________ el más divertido de la clase. – You were the funniest guy in the class.

Answer Key

1. éramos
2. estuvieron
3. Fuiste
4. estaba
5. eras

¿Quieres ser bilingüe?

You’ve got all you need to differentiate between ser vs estar in present and past tenses—now it’s time to practice it with a native Spanish speaker! Sign up now for a free trial lesson with one of our certified Spanish teachers from Guatemala and learn while enjoying the fun and flexible classes available here at Homeschool Spanish Academy. You’ll be bilingual before you know it!

Want more free Spanish grammar resources? Check out these posts!

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• Spanish Words with Multiple Meanings in Latin America
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• Avoiding Common Errors in Spanish Grammar