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One of the hardest parts of learning a romance language—especially one like Spanish—is verb conjugation.

In Spanish, the way a verb is conjugated depends on a number of factors, including the subject, the verb tense, and the purpose of the sentence itself. That means that there are actually many versions of each verb, all of which mean something slightly different. And because so much of understanding Spanish revolves around verbs, it’s an important (though pretty confusing) part of learning Spanish as a second language.

If you’re taking the AP Spanish exam, ser is one of the most critical verbs that you need to know—and know how to conjugate. Unfortunately, the conjugations for ser can be pretty tricky. But we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll give you every possible verb conjugation for the Spanish verb ser, which means “to be.” We’ll even give you a quick rundown on what ser means and when to use it!

So… ¡si estan listos, vamos!

It's time to do like Dora and "Come on, vamanos!"
Loren Javier/Flickr

Every Single Ser Conjugation Chart

We’ve broken down every conjugation of ser by verb tense and form! Scroll down until you see the heading for the verb tense you need, then check out the corresponding chart below.

Present Indicative

Imperfect Indicative

Preterite Indicative

Future Indicative

Conditional

Present Subjunctive

Imperative or Command

Imperfect Subjunctive

Note that there are two conjugations for the imperfect subjunctive. In Spanish, these conjugation forms can be used interchangeably!

All Perfect Tenses

A quick note: there are multiple perfect tenses, including the pluperfect, preterite perfect, future perfect, conditional perfect, and present perfect subjunctive, and pluperfect subjunctive. When using these forms, the construction is always as follows: 

You’ll conjugate haber in whatever form accompanies the perfect tense. For example, if you’re using the future perfect, you’ll conjugate haber in future tense!

Dad joke of the day: "Ser" means "to be," not "two bees"

Meaning and Usage of Ser

As we mentioned earlier, ser means “to be” in Spanish. But if you’re studying Spanish, you know that there’s a second verb that means “to be” as well: estar. (We’ll talk about estar in another article, so you don’t need to worry about it now.)

Additionally, ser is an irregular verb. That means it doesn’t follow the normal patterns of conjugations that a regular verb—ike hablar (to speak) or vivir (to live)—do. Unfortunately, there’s no easy tip, trick, or formula to help you nail the ser conjugation each and every time. The only way to make sure you know the ser conjugations is to memorize them.

So how do you know when to use ser?

In general, ser is used to talk about what something is. You can think of ser as a way to talk about a thing’s permanent state or a set of characteristics that don’t change. To show you how this works, here are examples of situations that require you to use ser:

Time and Date

If you’re talking about a specific time (on a clock) or calendar date, you should use ser. 

Place of Origin and Nationality

Whenever you’re talking about someone’s home country, state, or where they were born, use a ser conjugation. 

Occupation or Profession

Use the appropriate version of ser when speaking about a person’s job, profession, or occupation. 

Religious or Political Affiliation

Use ser when you’re talking about someone’s religion or the political party they belong to. 

What Something Is Made Of

When describing what something is made of, use ser. If you’re discussing how something is made, you’ll need to use a verb like hacer (to make) instead. 

Possession

When you’re talking about what something belongs to, use ser. This is how you indicate ownership! 

Permanent Relationships of One Person to Another

Use ser to indicate how people are related to one another. 

Where an Event Is Taking Place

Use a ser conjugation to talk about the time and location of a specific event. 

Essential Characteristics of People and Things

When deciding between ser and estar to talk about characteristics, use ser when you’re talking about permanent, unchanging, and/or essential traits of a person or item. 

Generalizations

If you’re talking in large generalities, use a ser conjugation. 

What's Next?

If you’re preparing for the AP Spanish exam, that’s great! You might also look into other classes that offer AP exams in order to maximize your college credit and weighted GPA.

Wondering what a good AP score is for the AP Spanish exam? Here’s a list of the average AP scores for every AP test!

One of the tricky bits about AP tests is that it’s hard to know when to start studying for them. You’re taking the AP class, after all! Here’s a handy guide to help you figure out the best time to start studying for the AP Spanish test on your own. (Spoiler alert: you do have to study for AP tests outside of the classroom, too!)