ser

See also ser., Ser, SER, ṣer, sêr, sér, and sér-

English

Abbreviation

ser

1. serial

Anagrams

• ers
• ESR
• res

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Asturian

Verb

ser

1. to be

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Catalan

Alternative forms

• ésser

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, copulative) to be (Used to connect a noun to another noun.)
4. (transitive, copulative) 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			sent, essent
past participle			estat, sigut
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
Indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	sóc, só	ets	és	som	sou	són
	imperfect	era	eres	era	érem	éreu	eren
	future	seré	seràs	serà	serem	sereu	seran
	preterite	fui	fores	fou	fórem	fóreu	foren
	conditional	seria, fóra	series, fores	seria, fóra	seríem, fórem	seríeu, fóreu	serien, foren
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells/elles
	present	sigui	siguis	sigui	siguem	sigueu	siguin
	imperfect	fos	fossis	fos	fóssim	fóssiu	fossin
imperative		-	tu	ell/ella	nosaltres	vosaltres	ells/elles
			sigues	sigui	siguem	sou	siguin

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Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA: /seːr/, [seɐ̯ˀ]

Verb

ser

1. present of se

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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

• estar

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Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈʃɛr/

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

• sör

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Kurdish

Noun

ser m.

1. head

Preposition

li ser

1. on

   li ser maseyê — “on the table”

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Norwegian

Verb

ser

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

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Polish

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *syrъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA: [sɛr]

• Audio

  (file)

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

• ser biały
• ser krowi
• ser śmietankowy

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin essere, from Latin esse, present active infinitive of sum (“I am, exist”)

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈser/

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, Lya Wyler (translator), J. K. Rowling (English author), Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), 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:

• O homem está feliz.—“The man is [currently] happy.”
• O homem é feliz.—“The man is [always] happy.”
• Estás louco?—“Are you crazy [currently out of your mind]?”
• És louco?—“Are you crazy [permanently insane]?”
• Ela está em casa. — “She is [currently] at home.”
• Ela é do Brasil. — “She is [originally] from Brazil.”

Conjugation

  Conjugation of the Portuguese -er verb ser

Notes:

• This is an irregular verb of the -er group.
• Verbs with this conjugation include: ser.

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	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

• estar
• ter
• haver

Noun

ser m. (plural seres)

1. being.

Related terms

• ser humano
• ser vivo

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Romanian

Etymology

Latin serum, French sérum

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ser/

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	niște seruri	serurile
genitive/dative	unui ser	serului	unor seruri	serurilor

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Spanish

Etymology

Old Spanish seer, from Vulgar Latin essere, from Latin esse, present active infinitive of sum (“I am, exist”)

Pronunciation

• IPA: /se̞ɾ/

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:

• El hombre está felíz.—“The man is [currently] happy.”
• El hombre es felíz.—“The man is [always] happy.”
• ¿Estás loco?—“Are you crazy [currently out of your mind]?”
• ¿Eres loco?—“Are you crazy [permanently insane]?”
• El hombre está en España. — “The man is [currently] in Spain.”
• El hombre es de España. — “The man is [originally] from Spain.”

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

• estar

Noun

ser m. (plural seres)

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

Related terms

• ser humano

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Swedish

Verb

ser

1. present tense of se.

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Turkish

Etymology

From Persian سر (sar)

Noun

ser

1. (archaic) head

Synonyms

• (head): baş, kafa