@vaporeon_ ser and estar are spanish words that both translate to "to be" and which you should use is contextual and the rules for which should be used confused the hell out of me back when I took Spanish classes

@wallhackio @vaporeon_ the way my Spanish teacher explained, ser is used for permanent things while estar is temporary things (broadly)

@onfy @vaporeon_ I'm not sure if it was actually difficult but I struggled to engage with language classes in general

@wallhackio @vaporeon_ it's one of those fun things where a language has more precision in a concept than others (like steam vs vapour...) yeah you can sort of adjust,I don't get to speak Spanish a lot but I think I get it right 50% of the time

@onfy @wallhackio @vaporeon_ it gets confusing though because i’m pretty sure the current weather is ser, which feels like an exception to that rule

@onfy @wallhackio @vaporeon_

The "essence/state" distinction between the two verbs is often misinterpreted as a "permanent/temporary" distinction. In most contexts these distinctions are practically synonymous (including all of the above examples) but there exist cases in which they are not, and using the latter distinction can lead one to choosing the incorrect verb. For example:

• Mi abuelito está muerto. ― My grandad is dead. (Here está is used instead of es because death is a state, even though it is permanent.)
• ¡Todavía somos jóvenes! ― We are still young! (Here somos is used instead of estamos because a person's age is seen as a defining characteristic rather than a state, even if it is not permanent.)

Also, when stating the location of an object (but not an event), estar is used, regardless of whether the location is permanent or not:

• Madrid está en el centro de España. ― Madrid is in central Spain.

not confusing at all

@aescling @wallhackio @vaporeon_ my thought was that you weren't always dead, and Madrid is where they say it is, so they could always move it down the street. got me with age, though it's usually something you have anyway

@onfy @wallhackio @vaporeon_ i think the idea with age is that birthyear is an essence. you will always have been born as many years ago as your age implies

@onfy @wallhackio @vaporeon_ like, that birthdate never changes