Catalan ser “to be” links a subject to its identity, class, origin, or defining description. It also tells time, locates events, and, in the Central teaching baseline, commonly gives the simple location of people and things. Because English uses one verb be across all of these meanings, you must learn the Catalan division of labor between ser and estar.
The present forms of ser are highly irregular. They cannot be generated by adding one regular set of endings, so learn the six-form paradigm as a unit.
The complete present paradigm
| Person | Present of ser |
|---|---|
| jo | soc |
| tu | ets |
| ell / ella / vostè | és |
| nosaltres | som |
| vosaltres | sou |
| ells / elles / vostès | són |
Soc la Júlia i soc tècnica de laboratori.
I'm Júlia, and I'm a laboratory technician.
Sou els veïns del tercer, oi?
You're the neighbors from the third floor, right?
La Mireia i l'Arnau són cosins.
Mireia and Arnau are cousins.
The subject pronoun is normally omitted: soc, not necessarily jo soc. Use jo, tu, and the other pronouns for contrast or clarification. Polite vostè takes és, while plural vostès takes són.
The accent distinguishes third-person singular és “is” from unstressed es, a weak pronoun. Third-person plural són also has an accent. Since the 2016 IEC spelling reform, first-person soc is written without the former diacritical accent: modern soc, older sóc.
The infinitives ser and ésser are both standard. Ser is the usual unmarked form in contemporary speech and writing; ésser is especially frequent (formal) or (literary) and in some regional usage. Their present paradigm is the same.
Identity, classification, and defining properties
Use ser to say who or what someone is, place a subject in a class, name a profession, or attribute a defining property. The complement may be a noun phrase, adjective, or prepositional phrase.
L'Aina és arquitecta i el seu germà és infermer.
Aina is an architect, and her brother is a nurse.
Aquest carrer és molt tranquil, però és estret.
This street is very quiet, but it's narrow.
Aquestes tasses són de ceràmica.
These cups are made of ceramic.
With an adjective, the adjective agrees with the subject: el carrer és estret; les places són estretes. Profession nouns normally appear without an article after ser when they simply classify: és arquitecta. Add an article when the noun phrase is identified or qualified: és l'arquitecta que ha dissenyat l'edifici.
The popular shortcut “ser means permanent” is not a rule. A profession can change tomorrow and still takes ser because it classifies the person. Conversely, a location may be geographically permanent but the choice depends on how it is construed, not on real-world permanence.
Origin, possession, and affiliation with de
Use ser de for origin, ownership, material, or affiliation. Context resolves the relationship.
Som de Manresa, però ara vivim a Reus.
We're from Manresa, but we live in Reus now.
Aquest paraigua és de la Carla.
This umbrella belongs to Carla.
De is required in both examples. English expresses ownership with a possessive construction, but Catalan can literally say that an object “is of” someone.
Time, dates, and events
Use ser for clock time, days, dates, and when or where an event takes place. The verb agrees with the time expression: és la una but són les dues.
És la una i encara no hem dinat.
It's one o'clock and we still haven't had lunch.
Avui és dijous i la reunió és a les quatre.
Today is Thursday, and the meeting is at four.
El concert és al teatre municipal, no a l'auditori.
The concert is at the municipal theater, not at the auditorium.
The last sentence locates an event. English makes no special distinction, but Catalan uses ser: the concert “takes place” there. This remains true even if the building itself is described with a locative construction.
Simple location: a Catalan point English does not show
For a neutral statement that someone or something is at a place, the traditional Central baseline uses ser: On són les claus? Són al calaix. This differs from the usual Spanish division. Modern Central Catalan also uses estar in some locative contexts, especially to add duration, residence, work, fixation, or resultant position. Valencian and some other Catalan varieties extend locative estar more broadly, even without an explicit duration; that established regional use is not automatically Spanish interference.
La Clara és a casa i les claus són damunt la taula.
Clara is at home, and the keys are on the table.
Ja soc aquí; pots obrir la porta.
I'm here now; you can open the door.
Compare neutral La Clara és a casa with durative La Clara està a casa tota la tarda “Clara is staying at home all afternoon.” This is not a mechanical permanent/temporary contrast. It is a contrast between bare location and a location construed as continued presence. The Present of Estar develops the second pattern.
Weak pronouns with ser
The invariable weak pronoun ho can replace a predicate identifying or describing the subject. It stands before a finite present form.
—Ets la nova coordinadora? —Sí, ho soc.
—Are you the new coordinator? —Yes, I am.
For a place, hi can replace the locative complement: La Marta és al despatx? Sí, hi és. With negation, no precedes the pronoun: No hi és; torna a les cinc. English leaves the complement unspoken after be; Catalan often expresses it with ho or hi.
Regional forms
The main table is the broad common standard. (regional: Balearic) commonly uses som for first-person singular as well as for first-person plural; context and the subject distinguish them. (regional: Valencian) eres occurs for second-person singular alongside general ets, and estar has a wider traditional role in ordinary physical location than in the Central baseline. These are established regional patterns, not mistakes.
Use regional paradigms consistently. A learner using the general model soc, ets, és... will be understood throughout the Catalan-speaking area and is suitable in everyday and (formal) contexts.
Mini-dialogue
—On és la presentació? —És a la biblioteca, a les sis. —I qui són els ponents? —Són dues investigadores de la universitat.
—Where is the presentation? —It's at the library, at six. —And who are the speakers? —They're two researchers from the university.
Here és locates and times an event, while són classifies the speakers. The same present paradigm serves several functions, but all are asserted as current facts.
Present, progressive, past, and mood
As a copula, ser usually describes a state rather than an unfolding activity. Do not build estar sent mechanically from English “is being.” Avui és molt amable can describe today's behavior; when you mean “is behaving,” avui es porta molt bé is often more idiomatic.
The completed past of an event uses the periphrastic past: La reunió va ser ahir. There is no a: va a ser is not the ordinary Catalan past. Obligation uses haver de: He de ser a casa a les sis, not Spanish-influenced Tinc que ser a casa a les sis. For mood, compare Sé que és útil with Vull que sigui útil. Sé asserts usefulness, so the indicative appears; vull places it inside a wish, so the subjunctive appears.
Common Mistakes
1. Keeping the old accent on soc.
❌ Sóc estudiant de primer curs.
Outdated spelling under the current IEC standard—the former diacritical accent was removed.
✅ Soc estudiant de primer curs.
I'm a first-year student.
2. Omitting the accents on és and són.
❌ La reunió es a les tres i els ponents son aquí.
Incorrect—the verb forms és and són require accents.
✅ La reunió és a les tres i els ponents són aquí.
The meeting is at three and the speakers are here.
3. Using estar to locate an event.
❌ La reunió està a l'auditori.
Incorrect when this names where the event takes place; event location uses ser.
✅ La reunió és a l'auditori.
The meeting is in the auditorium.
4. Forgetting agreement in a profession noun.
❌ Les meves germanes són metgessa.
Incorrect—the profession noun must agree with the plural subject.
✅ Les meves germanes són metgesses.
My sisters are doctors.
5. Choosing the indicative inside a wish.
❌ Vull que la reunió és curta.
Incorrect—the meeting's being short is desired, not asserted.
✅ Vull que la reunió sigui curta.
I want the meeting to be short.
Key Takeaways
Learn soc, ets, és, som, sou, són as an irregular whole. Use ser for identity, classification, origin, ownership, material, clock time, dates, event location, and neutral spatial location. Let meaning choose the verb: Catalan ser/estar is not an English permanent/temporary formula and does not duplicate the Spanish location rule.
Now practice Catalan
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Present of EstarA1 — Use estic, estàs, està, estem, esteu, and estan for states, results, durative locations, and focused ongoing actions.
- Ser versus EstarA2 — Choose ser or estar by distinguishing identity, classification, neutral location, events, current state, and resulting condition.
- Ser, Estar, or Haver-hiA2 — Distinguish identity, neutral or durative location, and the introduction of an existing or available referent.
- Adjectives with Ser and EstarB1 — Choose ser for characterization and estar for attained states, while recognizing adjectives whose meaning changes with the copula.
- Articles with Professions and IdentitiesA2 — Choose zero, indefinite, or definite articles with Catalan professions and identities according to classification and reference.
- The Ser PassiveB2 — Build and use the Catalan ser passive with agreement and per agents, while choosing it only when patient-centered information structure justifies it.