Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Noun Gender and "The"

In Spanish, every noun has a gender: it is either masculine or feminine. Because of this, the word "the" changes to match the noun. Use el for masculine nouns and la for feminine nouns.

The Verb "ser" (to be)

To build your first sentences, you will use the verb ser, which means "to be" (used for identity and basic characteristics). Spanish sentences generally follow the same Subject-Verb-Complement order as English.

Here are the singular subject pronouns and their matching forms of ser:

Let's put these together with nouns to state who someone is:

You can easily combine two statements using y, which means "and":

Pointing at Objects: "esto" and "eso"

When you want to point to an object, use the singular demonstrative pronouns esto (this) and eso (that). Because they represent single things, they pair with the verb form es.

Describing with Adjectives

You can also use ser to link a subject to a descriptive word (an adjective). Just place the adjective directly after the verb.