In some of the Romance languages the copula, the equivalent of the verb to be in English, is relatively complex compared to its counterparts in other languages. A copula is a word that links the subject of a sentence with a predicate (a subject complement). Whereas English has one main copula verb (and some languages like Russian mostly express the copula implicitly) some Romance languages have more complex forms.
Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and some other Romance languages have more than one copula verb. Conversely, French and certain others have only one. The development of copula verbs in Romance languages is explained by the fact that these are ultimately derived from three Latin verbs: "to be" (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European , as in English is). The verb was an irregular, suppletive verb, with some of its forms (e.g. "I was/I have been") taken from the Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to become" (as in English be). "to stand" or "to stay" (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European , as in English stand and German ). "to sit" (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European , as in English sit).
As the Romance languages developed over time, the three separate Latin verbs became just one or two verbs in the Romance languages.
The reduction of three separate verbs into just one or two appears to have occurred as follows: The irregular infinitive was remodeled into . and forms sounded similar in Latin once the latter reduced to , and sounded even more similar after stress shifted in Spanish infinitives to the penultimate vowel. As a result, parts of the conjugations of erstwhile were subject to being integrated into conjugation paradigms associated with , eventually . itself remained a separate verb, but (later ) and were similar in some meanings, so that, especially in the Western Romance languages, evolved into a second copula, with a meaning of "to be (temporarily or incidentally)"; was then narrowed to mean "to be (permanently or essentially)".
The development of two copular verbs in this manner occurred most completely in Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. In other languages, most usages of English "to be" are still translated by : In Italian, the infinitive essere continues Latin as existential 'to be', while stare has the primary meaning "to stay" and is used as a copula only in a few situations: to express one's state of physical health (sto bene "I am well"); to form progressive aspects (sto parlando "I am speaking"); and (especially in the south of Italy) with the meaning of "to be located", although a distinction can be expressed in most varieties of Italian: è in cucina 'it's in the kitchen (where it usually is)' versus sta in cucina 'it's in the kitchen (where it isn't usually located)'. In Old French, the verb ester < maintained the Proto-Romance meaning of "to stand, stay, stop". In modern French, this verb has almost totally disappeared (see below for the one exception), although the derivative verb of rester ("to remain") exists, and some parts of the conjugation of ester have become incorporated into être "to be" < . As a result of this complex evolution, even though French has a single verb for "to be" (être), its conjugation is highly irregular.
History
In English, it is possible to say "there stands..." instead of "there is..." in certain contexts. In Latin, too, it became common to eschew in favour of and say where things "stood" instead of where they "were". With time, it became common to use this verb to express other states.
Today, Ibero-Romance languages, Catalan, and (to a lesser extent) Italian commonly use two copulas, one from each of the Latin verbs. The others use just one main copula, from .
There is also a notable tendency for a derivative of the supine of () to replace the past participle of verbs deriving from (which in Latin had no supine). Examples: Italian has stato as the past participle of not only stare but also essere, instead of the expected essuto (which, along with suto, we encounter only in mediaeval texts). Standard Catalan has estat as the past participle of not only estar but also ésser. However, many people use forms such as sigut or sét, which are considered also standard for colloquial speech. French has été as the past participle of être, which had a complex phonetic development like many words of the language: → /sˈtatu/ (Vulgar Latin) > /esˈtæðo/ (Proto-Gallo-Romance) > /esˈteθ/ (early Old French) > /ehˈte/ (late Old French) > /eːˈte/ (Middle French) > /ete/ (Modern French). Notes Following the standard practice, Latin verbs are quoted here in the first person singular of the present indicative. In other words, is literally "I am", rather than "to be". Their infinitives were and . Although it is normal to use lower case when writing Latin in modern times, this article, dealing as it does with etymology, presents Latin in the capital letters used by the Romans, and modern innovations such as , , ligatures, macrons, and breves have been avoided. Only the basic simple tenses are given in the conjugation tables, but all languages below have also numerous compound tenses. The asterisk (*) indicates an incorrect or unattested form.
Spanish
Spanish copulas
The Spanish copulas are ser and estar. The latter developed as follows: → *estare → estar
The copula ser developed from two Latin verbs. Thus its inflectional paradigm is a combination: most of it derives from (to be) but the present subjunctive appears to come from (to sit) via the Old Spanish verb seer.
E.g. derivation from :
→ sea (1st person singular, present tense, subjunctive mood)
Derivation from :
→ somos (1st person plural, present tense, indicative mood)
The infinitive (on which the modern future and conditional are based) could have derived from either or both:
→ èssere (as in Italian) → ésser (as in Catalan) → ser → *seder → seer → ser
In the early part of the second millennium, in texts such as the Cantar de Mio Cid, ser was still used mostly as in Latin, and there was little place for estar; sentences like Es pagado, e davos su amor, "He is satisfied, and he gives you his favour" are found, where modern Spanish might have Queda contento, or Está satisfecho, y le da su favor.
As the centuries went by, estar spread in use. Today, ser is used to express the fundamental nature, identity, essence, or characteristics of something – what it really is, while estar expresses the state or condition something happens to be in. Indeed, ser is etymologically related to the English words "essence" and "is", and estar with "state", "status", "standing", "stance" and "stay". The distinction is parallel with the concept of essence versus accident.
The verb quedar (which also has the specific meanings of "to remain", "to be as a result" and others) is often used in a similar way to estar. It derives from the Latin ( in the infinitive), "to rest".
Ser
Non-finiteInfinitive serPast participle sidoGerund siendoPersonyotúélnosotrosvosotrosellosIndicativePresentsoyeresessomossoissonPreteritefuifuistefuefuimosfuisteisfueronImperfecteraeraseraéramoseraiseranFutureseréserásseráseremosseréisseránConditional seríaseríasseríaseríamosseríaisseríanSubjunctivePresentseaseasseaseamosseáisseanImperfectfuera / fuesefueras / fuesesfuera / fuesefuéramos / fuésemosfuerais / fueseisfueran / fuesenFuture†fuerefueresfuerefuéremosfuereisfuerenImperative séseaseamossedsean
Estar Non-finiteInfinitive estarPast participle estadoGerund estandoPersonyotúélnosotrosvosotrosellosIndicativePresentestoyestásestáestamosestáisestánPreteriteestuveestuvisteestuvoestuvimosestuvisteisestuvieronImperfectestabaestabasestabaestábamosestabaisestabanFutureestaréestarásestaráestaremosestaréisestaránConditional estaríaestaríasestaríaestaríamosestaríaisestaríanSubjunctivePresentestéestésestéestemosestéisesténImperfectestuviera / estuviese estuvieras / estuvieses estuviera / estuviese estuviéramos / estuviésemosestuvierais / estuvieseisestuvieran / estuviesenFuture†estuviereestuvieresestuviereestuviéremosestuviereisestuvierenImperative†† está estemosestad † Archaic.
†† Estar is usually made reflexive in the imperative.
Nuance
Él es sucio = "He is dirty" (i.e. "He is a dirty person" – characteristic) Él está sucio = "He is dirty" (i.e. "He has some dirt on him" – state)
Es abierta = "She is open" (i.e. "She is an open sort of person" – characteristic) Está abierta = "It is open" (probably referring to a door or window – state)
Es triste = "[It/he/she] is sad" (i.e. gloomy – characteristic) Está triste = "[It/he/she] is sad" (i.e. feeling down – state)
¿Cómo eres? = "What are you like?" (i.e. "describe yourself" – characteristics) ¿Cómo estás? = "How are you?" (i.e. "how are you doing?" – state)
With adjectives referring to beauty and the like, ser means "to be", and estar means "to look". ¡Qué bonita es! = "Wow, she is so beautiful" (characteristic) ¡Qué bonita está! = "Wow, she is looking so beautiful / she is done up so nicely" (state)
The differentiation between "nature" and "state" makes sense when talking about the states of life and death: Él está vivo (He is alive), Él está muerto (He is dead). Estar is used for both alive and dead, since they are both states, although being dead is considered a permanent state.
Ser is used when stating the stage of life at which a person is. The old, the young, etc. are seen as groups that one can belong to. It is a question of identity: Él es viejo = "He is old" Él es un viejo = "He is an old man" Cuando ella era niñita = "When she was a little girl" However, age can also be presented not as a matter of identity but a state: Él está viejo = "He is looking old" / "He got old"
The use of estar gives a certain special nuance to some verbs. For example, estar guapa, though it has the sense of "to be beautiful", also emphasizes the use of make-up and clothes to create a beautiful look. Ser sucio instead of the more usual estar sucio means to be the sort of person who is likely to be dirty.
The adjective loco ("mad", "crazy", "insane") is always used with estar in Spain, as the implication is that the person "has gone mad" (i.e. a change of state). It is possible to give it a permanent nuance, but only by using it as a noun: Él es un loco, "He is a madman". Ser loco is used in certain regions in Latin America, however, meaning a permanent insanity as opposed to estar loco meaning have gone mad or acting crazy.
The expression como una cabra (with the implied loco omitted) is used with estar to mean "mad as a hatter", "crazy as a loon". Ser como una cabra would literally mean, "to be like a goat".
Ser is used with adjectives of fundamental belief, nationality, sex, intelligence, etc. The use of estar with francés ("French") would sound quite odd to native Spanish speakers, as though it meant, "to feel a bit French". Similarly, no estar católico does not mean, "to no longer be Catholic", but is a colloquial expression meaning "to feel under the weather".
It is often stated that the difference between the two verbs corresponds to "permanent" versus "temporary", but it is more accurate to describe the distinction as one of "essential nature" versus "state or condition". The "essential nature" of things does sometimes change, and this is reflected in the language. For example, someone who had been depressed for a prolonged period, and then had a life changing experience like a new career or long-term relationship, might say ahora yo soy feliz, meaning, "now I am happy".
Specific constructions requiring ser A special use of ser, which expresses neither a nature nor a state but an action, is the formation of the passive voice: Ellos han sido asesinados = "They have been murdered" Tú serás juzgada = "You will be judged"
Specific constructions requiring estar
Past participles