Spanish GCSE Reading and Grammar – Constance e Imran Episode 23 (learn through a novel)
TOPIC: Spanish Verbs SER vs ESTAR explained — The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide (with Examples & Reading Practice)
In every blog you will always find the same format:
- The story episode in Spanish.
- The translation into English.
- A grammar explanation with examples from the story.
This way you can practise reading, understanding and grammar, all at the same time.
| Constance e Imran – Episodio 23 | Constance and Imran – Episode 23 |
| En Brighton, caminan por una calle llena de tiendas pequeñas. En una galería, un cuadro los detiene. | In Brighton, they walk down a street full of small shops. In a gallery, a painting stops them. |
| —Es un bebé —dice Constance en voz baja—, y está muerto. | —It’s a baby —says Constance softly—, and he’s dead. |
| Nadie habla por un momento. Solo se escucha el sonido de las gaviotas a lo lejos. Maya se acerca al cristal y apoya una mano en el marco de la ventana. Finalmente, Daniel reacciona. | No one speaks for a moment. Only the sound of seagulls can be heard in the distance. Maya steps closer to the glass and rests her hand on the window frame. Finally, Daniel reacts. |
| —Yo no podría mirar algo así todos los días. | —I couldn’t look at something like that every day. |
| Maya no aparta la vista. | Maya doesn’t look away. |
| —Por eso lo pintaría —responde despacio—. Porque ya no puedo mirar otra cosa. Hay imágenes que tú no eliges, ellas te eligen a ti. | —That’s why I’d paint it —she says slowly—. Because I can’t look at anything else anymore. There are images you don’t choose, they choose you. |
| Imran frunce el ceño. | Imran frowns. |
| —¿Qué quieres decir? | —What do you mean? |
| —Que a veces la vida te deja sin palabras, y solo el color puede decir lo que tú no sabes decir. | —Sometimes life leaves you speechless, and only colour can say what you don’t know how to say. |
| Constance sonríe apenas. | Constance smiles faintly. |
| —Entonces ya sabes quién eres. | —Then you already know who you are. |
| Mientras se alejan, Maya se detiene, da media vuelta y toma una foto del cuadro. | As they walk away, Maya stops, turns around and takes a photo of the painting. |
| Todavía no sabe que ese cuadro será parte de su historia futura. Pero ya sabe que será artista. | She doesn’t know yet that this painting will be part of her future story. But she already knows that she will be an artist. |
📘 GRAMMAR:
Introduction
In every school in the UK, and in almost every Spanish textbook written for British students, you will read the same explanation:
“ser is used for permanent situations, and estar is used for non-permanent situations.”
This rule is repeated so often that many students believe it must be true.
However, it is completely inaccurate.
You will hear this same nonsense in many YouTube videos and apps created by people who are not trained language teachers, who often repeat simplified ideas without checking if they are correct.
I say this with absolute respect: it is not their fault. They simply learned a simplified version and passed it on.
But you deserve better than an oversimplification.
Spanish does NOT work that way — and your episode today shows it perfectly. Look:
— Es un bebé —dice Constance—, y está muerto.
— It’s a baby —says Constance—, and he’s dead.
If “ser = permanent” and “estar = temporary” were true, these two sentences would be impossible.
Part 1 — Examples from the episode
These examples alone are enough to show that the “permanent vs non-permanent” rule simply does not describe how Spanish works:
- Es un bebé. → Is that permanent? Of course not.
- Está muerto. → Is that temporary? Absolutely not.
So the rule doesn’t work. At all.
Part 2 — Uses of ser for things that are NOT permanent
| Spanish | English | Why this disproves the “permanent” idea |
|---|---|---|
| Soy delgada. | I am thin. | Weight can change. |
| No soy tímida. | I am not shy. | Personality can change. |
| Es mi amiga. | She is my friend. | Friendships can change. |
| Es camarera. | She is a waitress. | Jobs can change. |
| Es mi ordenador. | It is my computer. | You can sell it tomorrow. |
| Son las tres. | It is 3 o’clock. | It changes in one minute. |
| Es lunes. | It is Monday. | It changes tomorrow. |
All of these use ser, and none of them are permanent.
Part 3 — Uses of estar for things that ARE permanent
| Spanish | English | Why this disproves the “temporary” idea |
|---|---|---|
| Londres está en Inglaterra. | London is in England. | It’s not moving. |
| El gato está muerto. | The cat is dead. | Permanent. |
| Está permanentemente cerrado. | It is permanently closed. | Permanent. |
| Está permanentemente abierto. | It is permanently open. | Permanent. |
| Está permanentemente encendido. | It is permanently switched on. | Permanent. |
| Está permanentemente apagado. | It is permanently switched off. | Permanent. |
| Está permanentemente vacío. | It is permanently empty. | Permanent. |
| Está permanentemente lleno. | It is permanently full. | Permanent. |
| Está permanentemente prohibido. | It is permanently forbidden. | Permanent. |
| Estuve en esa relación durante toda mi vida. | I was in that relationship my whole life. | Lifetime state with estar. |
All of these use estar, and all refer to permanent or lifelong states.
If your teacher tells you that ser = permanent and estar = non-permanent, show them these examples and ask them to explain why Spanish speakers say them this way.
They won’t be able to, because the rule does not describe how native speakers actually use the language.
This is not your teacher’s fault — this “rule” has been used for years because it sounds simple.
But simple is not always accurate, and you are now learning Spanish correctly.
In the next episodes, I will teach you the real explanation of ser and estar — clear, correct, and based on how Spanish speakers actually think and communicate.
💡 TIP:
Look at this phrase:
Todavía no sabe que ese cuadro será parte de su historia futura. Pero ya sabe que será artista.
She doesn’t know yet that this painting will be part of her future story. But she already knows that she will be an artist.
Here you have two adverbs of time, ya and todavía. Although ya is used in many other ways which we will explore in another blog, it is mainly “already”, whereas todavía is “yet, still”. Look at these alternative examples:
- Ya he visto esa película. → I have already seen that movie.
- Todavía no he visto esa película. → I haven’t seen that movie yet.
I have written a blog explaining this topic in more detail:
YA vs TODAVÍA
Find all the episodes here:
Spanish for London — Contents GCSE Spanish
Highly qualified native teacher with 30 years of experience.
One-to-one lessons via Zoom.
Contact me at laura@spanishforlondon.com
We post two new episodes every week — keep up with Constance and Imran’s story!
