Ser, Estar, and the Fortune Cookie Rule

Have you ever heard that old joke (circa middle school) where you add “in bed” to the end of a fortune cookie fortune and it’s suddenly *so funny*? Let’s call this the Fortune Cookie Rule. Only instead of adding “in bed,” you add “for now” to decide whether to use ser or estar in a sentence.

When you are deciding whether to use ser or estar, the deciding factor is usually permanence. If you are talking about something that changes quickly or could change without much effort, then use estar. If you are talking about something that won’t change or would take a lot of effort to change, use ser. As with everything, there are exceptions (we’ll cover those in a minute), but this is a good general rule.

The Fortune Cookie Rule In Action

Let’s start with an example and apply the Fortune Cookie Rule in real time. For this example, let’s use a completely made up little girl named Sally.

Sally is a good kid. She’s friendly to everyone… for now? That doesn’t make sense. Maybe we’ll revise this statement when she hits puberty, but for now this is a pretty sure thing.

Ella es simpática.

Sally is tall for her age… for now? Again, we’ll have to wait for a growth spurt or lack thereof to decide if this one changes.

Ella es alta.

Sally is here… for now. She’s been known to wander off.

Ella está aquí.

Sally is happy… for now. Bwahaha… (Maybe I should have called this the Evil Queen Rule. Oh, well. Missed opportunity.)

Ella está feliz.

Sally is smart… for now? She’ll probably stay that way for a while. I hear she studies a lot. It won’t change in the next few minutes anyway.

Ella es inteligente.

Sally is ready for school…for now. You never know what that kid is going to do. She might rip off her shoe and throw it in the toilet. You can’t always predict Sally.

Ella está lista.

More Examples

Here are a few more examples of things that you would use ser or estar with. Hopefully, you’ll see a pattern start to emerge.

Ser

Beauty (you have to ignore the fact that this is a subjective determination and “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and all that)

Old/Young (but not specific age! - see below)

Colors

Height

Material - is something made of wood? Metal?

Estar

Feelings

Location

Weather (sometimes)

Neither

Age - use tener instead

Weather (sometimes) - use hace instead

Exceptions to This Rule (i.e., when is permanence not the deciding factor)

Statements of Time (the irony is not lost on me)

When telling time, even though time is constantly trudging forward, you don’t use estar. You use ser.

Qué hora es? What time is it?

Son las dos. It’s two o’clock.

Now that you've got a general idea of how to use ser and estar, go take a well deserved study break... for now.

Can you think of more exceptions to this rule? If so, leave me a comment and I'll add it to the post.