How To Use Soy In Spanish

Castilian has lots of pairs of words that take like meanings (or, when translating into English language, are the same give-and-take) only which are slightly dissimilar.

These pesky pairs include 'saber' and 'conocer' (to know), 'ir' and 'irse' (to go and to leave) and 'pedir' and 'preguntar' (to ask.)

One of the beginning pesky pairs nosotros come across in our Spanish studies is 'soy' and 'estoy' (I am).

So, if you're finding it a challenge to know when you should say 'soy' (I am) and when you should say 'estoy' (I am) then worry no more than!

This weblog post will teach you the fundamental differences between these two very important verbs.

Permit'southward beginning with a quick overview of the differences.

What is the divergence between "soy" and "estoy"?

"Soy" and "estoy" are both first-person present tense conjugations of verbs meaning 'to be.' That is to say, they both hateful 'I am.' "Soy" is used when you're talking near permanent, unchanging or rarely changing things. "Estoy" is used when you're talking about things that do vary regularly.

How to employ soy

Soy means 'I am' when talking virtually permanent or long-lasting attributes.

As a rule of thumb, we can use the acronym Physician to help united states call up when to use soy:

D escriptions
O ccupations
C haracteristics
T ime
O rigin
R elationships.

Descriptions

Descriptions include things such equally names, physicality, nationality and personality. These are things that are generally permanent (or, at least, that we presume won't change in the near future!)

Permit'south expect at some examples of descriptions.

Examples:

Soy Manuela | I am Manuela

Soy alto y atractivo (m) | I am tall and attractive.

Soy pequeña y forte (f) | I am small and strong

Soy estadounidense. | I am American (from the USA).

Soy católico. | I am Cosmic.

Occupations

For the purposes of our acronym, an occupation is what y'all practise for a living or your hobby. Pretty much any way that you lot spend time uses soy .

Examples:

Soy estudiante de español. | I am a student of Spanish.

Soy actriz. | I am an extra

Soy piloto. | I am a pilot

Characteristics

Characteristics are descriptions of your personality. Information technology'due south an extension of the idea of 'descriptions.'

Examples:

Soy romántico y fiel. | I am romantic and trustworthy.

Soy inteligente y ambiciosa. | I am intelligent and ambitious.

Soy simpático y cómico | I am overnice and funny.

Time

Fourth dimension refers to days of the calendar week, months of the yr, and the time of day.

Be careful, because when nosotros talk about our age, we don't use 'soy.' We use 'tengo.' And then you lot probably won't be using 'soy' for any of these, but you tin utilize other conjugations of the verb 'ser'.

Origin

Origin refers primarily to where someone or something is from. It can also mean the cloth something is made from (using 'es' or 'son' rather than 'soy).

Examples:

Soy de España. | I am from Spain.

Soy de México. | I am from Mexico.

Mi abrigo es de cuero. | My coat is made of leather

Relationships

Any personal relationships (family, friendship, romantic relationships etc) are also discussed with soy.

Examples:

Soy tu padre. | I am your male parent.

Soy tu novio. | I am your fellow.

Soy tu subalterno. | I am your subordinate.

When to apply "estoy"

Estoy is used to talk about temporary states and locations.

The acronym Identify is commonly used by Castilian learners to help us remember when to correctly use estoy.

P osition

50 ocation

A ction

C ondition

E motility.

Position

Position refers to the concrete position or posture you are in.

Examples:

Estoy sentada. |I am sitting down.

Estoy en medio de algo |I'm in the middle of something

Location

Your location refers to where y'all physically are. Dissimilar the other uses of estoy, which are temporary, this could also be permanently or theoretically.

Examples:

Estoy en el cine ahora. | I am at the movies right now.

Actions

Estoy is combined with the present participle to describe ongoing actions. This is just like the English construction "I am doing something."

Examples:

Estoy barriendo el suelo. | I am sweeping the floor.

Estoy sacando la basura. | I am taking out the trash.

Estoy pasando la aspiradora | I am vacuuming

Conditions

Physical and mental atmospheric condition are described using estoy. Things that are likely to modify over the course of hours, days, or even years can autumn into this category.

Examples:

Estoy cansada esta mañana. | I am tired this morning. (I might not be tired this afternoon, or tomorrow morning.)

Estoy enfermo hoy. | I am sick today. (But hopefully not forever!)

Emotions

How y'all are feeling is also described using estoy. This is related to conditions because your feelings are likely to change over time.

Estoy contenta. | I am happy.

Estoy nervioso. | I am nervous.

Estoy triste. | I am sad.

Why is information technology important to know the departure betwixt soy and estoy?

Equally well as helping you to sound fluent, knowing the difference betwixt soy and estoy can cease you from accidentally saying something yous don't mean.

Some words can be used with either "soy" or "estoy", and they modify their pregnant depending on the verb you use.

soy aburrido. | I am dull.

estoy aburrido. | I am bored.

soy bueno. | I am proficient.

estoy bueno. | I am bonny.

soy cansado. | I am tiring to be around.

estoy cansado. | I am tired.

soy grave. | I am serious.

estoy grave. | I am seriously ill.

soy listo. | I am clever.

estoy listo. | I am set.

soy malo. | I am a bad person.

estoy malo. | I am ill.

soy orgulloso. | I am vain.

estoy orgulloso. | I am proud.

soy pesado. | I am heavy or I am dull.

estoy pesado. | I am annoying.

soy seguro. | I am safe.

estoy seguro | I am certain.

soy viejo. | I am old.

estoy viejo. | I look sometime.

Conclusion

As you can run across, the differences between "soy" and "estoy" are subtle but very important to make sure you tin can exist understood fully.

But don't worry. While it might be challenging at first to have to recollect about which version of "I am" you desire to use, the more yous practise the easier it gets until, eventually, you will no longer have to call back about it!

Hey beau Linguaholics! Information technology'southward me, Marcel. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the Academy of Zurich. It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of yous guys what I know almost languages and linguistics in general.