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Ser Definition

Contents

English

Abbreviation

ser

  1. serial

Anagrams

Catalan

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin essere and this from Latin esse, present active infinitive of sum.

Verb

ser (first-person singular present sóc, past participle estat)

  1. (intransitive) To be, to exist.
    Ser o no ser, aquesta és la qüestió.
    To be or not to be, that is the question.
  2. (intransitive, +adverbial phrase) To be located (to be in a place)
  3. (transitive, copular) to be (Used to connect a noun to another noun.)
  4. (transitive, copular) to have a characteristic. (Used to connect a noun to an adjective that describes an inherent property.)
  5. (auxiliary) Used to form the passive voice, together with a past participle.

Usage notes

This is one of two verbs that can be translated as to be, the other being estar. Ser/ésser indicates something that is inherent and not expected to change, whereas estar describes temporary qualities that apply only at a particular time. Ser/ésser relates to estar as essence relates to state, etymologically as well as semantically.

Conjugation

conjugation of ser
Infinitive ser
Present participle essent
Past participle estat
Person Singular Plural
first second third first second third
Indicative jo tu ell/ella nosaltres vosaltres ells/elles
Present sóc or só ets és som sou són
Imperfect era eres era érem éreu eren
Simple future seré seràs serà serem sereu seran
Perfect he estat has estat ha estat hem estat heu estat han estat
Pluperfect havia estat havies estat havia estat havíem estat havíeu estat havien estat
Future anterior hauré estat hauràs estat haurà estat haurem estat haureu estat hauran estat
Past anterior haguí estat hagueres estat hagué estat haguérem estat haguéreu estat haguéren estat
Conditional Present seria; fóra series; fores seria; fóra seríem; fórem seríeu; fóreu serien; foren
Past hauria; haguera estat hauries; hagueres estat hauria; haguera estat hauríem; haguérem estat hauríeu; haguéreu estat haurien; hagueren estat
Subjunctive jo tu ell/ella nosaltres vosaltres ells/elles
Present sigui siguis sigui siguem sigueu siguin
Imperfect fos fossis fos fóssim fóssiu fossin
Perfect hagi estat hagis estat hagi estat hàgim estat hàgiu estat hagin estat
Pluperfect hagués estat haguessis estat hagués estat haguéssim estat haguéssiu estat haguessin estat
Imperative - tu ell/ella nosaltres vosaltres ells/elles
- sigues sigui siguem sou siguin

Danish

Pronunciation

Verb

ser

  1. Present of se.

Galician

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin essere and this from Latin esse, present active infinitive of sum.

Verb

ser (first-person sg present son, first-person sg preterite fun, past participle sido)

  1. to be
  2. first-person singular personal infinitive of ser.
  3. third-person singular personal infinitive of ser.

Usage notes

Like Portuguese and Spanish, Galician has two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”. The verb ser relates to essence, origin, or physical description. In contrast, the verb estar relates to current state or position.

Conjugation

Conjugation of ser (irregular)
infinitive ser
gerund sendo
past participle sido
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative eu ti el / ela nós vós eles / elas
present son es é somos sodes son
imperfect era eras era eramos erades eran
preterite fun fuches foi fomos fostes foron
pluperfect fora foras fora foramos forades foran
future serei serás será seremos seredes serán
conditional sería serías sería seriamos seriades serían
subjunctive eu ti el / ela nós vós eles / elas
present sexa sexas sexa sexamos sexades sexan
preterite fose foses fose fósemos fósedes fosen
future for fores for formos fordes foren
imperative eu ti el / ela nós vós eles / elas
— sé — — sede —
personal infinitive eu ti el / ela nós vós eles / elas
ser seres ser sermos serdes seren

See also

Hungarian

Pronunciation

Noun

ser (plural serek)

  1. (archaic, dialectal, humorous) beer

Usage notes

An archaic and dialectal variant of sör, but today it can also be humorous in informal conversations. In compound words and derivations, only sör is used.

Synonyms

Kurdish

Noun

ser m.

  1. head

Preposition

li ser

  1. on
    li ser maseyê — “on the table”

Norwegian

Verb

ser

  1. Present tense of se (Bokmål), sjå (Nynorsk)

Polish

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *syrъ.

Pronunciation

Noun

ser m.

  1. cheese

Declension

declension of ser
singular plural
nominative ser sery
genitive sera serów
dative serowi serom
accusative ser sery
instrumental serem serami
locative serze serach
vocative serze sery

Derived terms

Portuguese

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin essere < Latin esse, present active infinitive of sum (“I am, exist”); imitation of Greek oυσία (ousía, “being”) from oντ- (ont-), stem of present participle of ειναι (einai, “to be”)

Pronunciation

Verb

ser (present participle sendo)

  1. Denotes a permanent quality; to be;
    Ela é bonita. - “She is beautiful (permanent quality).”
  2. Denotes location in time; to be;
    Que horas são? - “What time is it?” (literally, “What hours are [they]?”)
    São cinco horas. - “It is five o'clock.” (literally, “[They] are five hours.”)
  3. Auxiliary verb for the passive voice, precedes verb in participle; to be.
    O carro foi vendido pelo seu antigo dono. - “The car has been sold by its old owner.”
  4. To be correct, to be true; particularly as answer or reaffirmation of a previous statement.
    • 2003, J. K. Rowling, Lya Wyler, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, Rocco, page 697:
      De qualquer jeito, ainda vou rever minha mãe um dia, não é?
      Anyway, I'll still see my mother again someday, won't I?

Usage notes

Portuguese and Spanish have two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”: ser relates to essence, contrasting with estar, which relates to state. Contrast the following:

Conjugation

Conjugation of the Portuguese -er verb ser Notes:
Singular Plural
First-person (eu) Second-person (tu) Third-person (ele/ela/você) First-person (nós) Second-person (vós) Third-person (eles/elas/vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal ser
Personal ser seres ser sermos serdes serem
Present participle
sendo
Past participle
Masculine sido sidos
Feminine sida sidas
Indicative
Present sou és é somos sois são
Imperfect era eras era éramos éreis eram
Preterite fui foste foi fomos fostes foram
Pluperfect fora foras fora fôramos fôreis foram
Future serei serás será seremos sereis serão
Conditional seria serias seria seríamos seríeis seriam
Subjunctive
Present seja sejas seja sejamos sejais sejam
Imperfect fosse fosses fosse fôssemos fôsseis fossem
Future for fores for formos fordes forem
Imperative
Affirmative seja sê seja sejamos sede sejam
Negative (não) seja sejas seja sejamos sejais sejam

See also

Noun

ser m. (plural seres)

  1. being.

Related terms

Romanian

Etymology

Latin serum, French sérum

Pronunciation

Noun

ser n. (plural seruri)

  1. serum

Declension

declension of ser
singular plural
gender n. indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
Nominative/Accusative un ser serul nişte seruri serurile
Genitive/Dative unui ser serului unor seruri serurilor
Vocative — — — —

Spanish

Etymology

Old Spanish seer < Vulgar Latin essere < Latin esse, present active infinitive of sum (“I am, exist”); imitation of Ancient Greek oὐσία (ousía, “being”) from ὀντ- (ont-), stem of present participle of εἶναι (einai, “to be”)

Pronunciation

Verb

ser (first-person singular present soy, first-person singular preterite fui, past participle sido)

  1. to be (essentially or identified as).
    Yo soy de los Estados Unidos.—“I am from the United States.”
    Errar es humano.—“To err is human.”
  2. to be (in the passive voice sense)
    La guitarra fue tocada.—“The guitar was played.”
  3. to exist; to occur
    La fiesta será mañana.—“The party will be tomorrow.”

Usage notes

Portuguese and Spanish have two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”: ser relates to essence, contrasting with estar, which relates to state. Contrast the following:

Conjugation

Conjugation of ser (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)
infinitive ser
gerund siendo
past participle sido
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
indicative yo tú él/ella usted nosotros vosotros ellos/ellas ustedes
present soy eres es somos sois son
imperfect era eras era éramos erais eran
preterite fui fuiste fue fuimos fuisteis fueron
future seré serás será seremos seréis serán
conditional sería serías sería seríamos seríais serían
subjunctive yo tú él/ella usted nosotros vosotros ellos/ellas ustedes
present sea seas sea seamos seáis sean
imperfect (ra) fuera fueras fuera fuéramos fuerais fueran
imperfect (se) fuese fueses fuese fuésemos fueseis fuesen
future fuere fueres fuere fuéremos fuereis fueren
imperative — tú usted nosotros vosotros ustedes
affirmative sé sea seamos sed sean
negative no seas no sea no seamos no seáis no sean

See also

Noun

ser m. (plural seres)

  1. A being, organism.
  2. Nature, essence
  3. Value, worth

Related terms

Swedish

Verb

ser

  1. Present tense of se.

Turkish

Etymology

From Persian سر (sar)

Noun

ser

  1. (archaic) head

Synonyms

 

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