Romance copula

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The copula or copulae (the verb or verbs meaning "to be") in all Romance languages derive from the Latin verbs SVM and STO. The former was the copular verb "to be" (ultimately from the Indo-European copula *h1es-), and the latter mainly meant "to stand" (ultimately from the Indo-European *steh2-), and was sometimes translatable as "to be". When Latin developed into the Romance languages, the use of STO expanded, and encroached on SVM's territory. This article deals with the exact distinction between the two verbs in the languages in which they exist.

See Copula for information on other languages, including English, particularly on syntax; see Indo-European copula for further information on the historical paradigms.

Notes on the use of Latin words:

  • We have followed the usual practice of quoting Latin verbs in the first person singular of the present indicative. In other words, SVM is literally "I am", rather than "to be". The infinitives are ESSE and STARE.
  • Although it is normal to use lower case when writing Latin in modern times, this article, dealing as it does with etymology, presents Latin in the capital letters used by the Romans. Nor have we used modern innovations such as U, J, ligatures, macrons or breves.

 * indicates an incorrect or unattested form.

Contents

[edit] Evolution of meaning

In English, it is possible to say "there stands..." instead of "there is..." in certain contexts. In Latin too, it became common to eschew SVM in favour of STO and say where things "stood" instead of where they "were". With time, it became common to use this verb to express other states.

Now, Castilian/Spanish, Galician/Portuguese, Catalan, and (to a lesser extent) Italian commonly use two copulae, one from each of the Latin verbs. The others use just one main copula, from SVM.

There is also a notable tendency for a derivative of the supine of STO (STATVS, STATA, STATVM) to replace the past participle of verbs deriving from SVM (which in Latin had no supine). Examples:

  • Italian has stato as the past participle of not only stare but also essere, instead of the expected essuto (which, along with suto we encounter only in mediaeval texts).
  • Standard Catalan has estat as the past participle of not only estar but also ésser. However, many people use forms such as sigut or sét, which are considered also standard for colloquial speech.
  • French has été as the p.p. of être, instead of the expected étu. Été developed as follows: STATVM → stato → estat → esté → été.

[edit] In Castilian/Spanish

Page of the Cantar de Mio Cid. The third line reads:Es pagado, e davos su amor.
Enlarge
Page of the Cantar de Mio Cid. The third line reads:
Es pagado, e davos su amor.

See also Spanish language, Spanish grammar and Spanish verbs.

The Spanish copulae developed as follows:

  • ESSE → *éssere → *ésser → *eser → ser
  • STARE → *estare → estar

According to the dictionary of the Real Academia, the verb ser derives from the Latin verb "to sit":

  • SEDERE → *seder → seer → ser

However, although it is possible that SEDERE may have been absorbed and merged into ser, it is clear that the meaning and the majority of the forms of the modern Spanish verb come from ESSE.

If we look back to the early part of the second millennium, in texts such as the Cantar de Mio Cid, ser was still used mostly as in Latin, and there was little place for estar; we can see sentences like Es pagado, e davos su amor, "He is satisfied, and he gives you his favour", where modern Spanish would have something like Queda contento, or Está satisfecho, y le da a usted su favor.

As the centuries went by, estar spread in use. Today, ser is used to express the fundamental nature, identity or characteristics of something — what it really is, whilst estar expresses the state something happens to be in. Indeed, ser is etymologically related to "essence" and "is", and estar with "state", "status", "standing", "stance" and "stay".

The verb quedar (which also has the specific meanings of "to remain", "to be as a result" and others) is often used in a similar way to estar. It derives from the Latin QVIETO (QVIETARE in the infinitive), "to rest".

[edit] Nuance

  • Es sucio = "He's dirty" (i.e. "He's a dirty person" — characteristic)
  • Está sucio = "He's dirty" (i.e. "He has some dirt on him" — state)
  • Es abierta = "She's open" (i.e. "She's an open sort of person" — characteristic)
  • Está abierta = "It's open" (probably referring to a door or window — state)
  • Es triste = "He/she/it is sad" (i.e. gloomy — characteristic)
  • Está triste = "He/she is sad" (i.e. feeling down — state)
  • ¿Cómo eres? = "What are you like?" (i.e. "describe yourself" — characteristics)
  • ¿Cómo estás? = "How are you?" (i.e. "how are you doing?" — state)

With adjectives referring to beauty and the like, ser means "to be", and estar means "to look".

  • ¡Qué guapa es! = "Wow, she's so beautiful" (characteristic)
  • ¡Qué guapa está! = "Wow, she's looking so beautiful / she's done up so nicely" (state)

Note that the differentiation between "nature" and "state" makes sense when talking about the states of life and death: Está vivo (He is alive). Está muerto (He is dead). Note that estar is used for both alive and dead, since they are both states, although being dead is considered a permanent state.

Ser is used when stating the stage of life at which a person is. The old, the young, etc are seen as groups that one can belong to. It is a question of identity:

  • Es viejo = "he's old"
  • Es un viejo = "he's an old man"
  • Cuando era niña = "when she was a girl"

However, age can also be presented not as a matter of identity but a state:

  • Está viejo = "he's looking old" / "he's got old"

The use of estar gives a certain special nuance to some verbs. For example, estar guapa, though it has the sense of "to be beautiful", also emphasizes the use of make-up and clothes to create a beautiful look. Ser sucio instead of the more usual estar sucio means to be the sort of person who is likely to be dirty.

The adjective loco ("mad", "crazy", "insane") is always used with estar in Spain, as the implication is that the person "has gone mad" (i.e. a change of state). It is possible to give it a permanent nuance, but only by using it as a noun: es un loco, "he's a madman". Ser loco is used in Latin America, however.

The expression como una cabra (with the implied loco omitted) is used with estar to mean "mad as a hatter", "crazy as a loon". Ser como una cabra would literally mean "to be like a goat".

Ser is used with adjectives of fundamental belief, nationality, sex, intelligence, etc. The use of estar with francés ("French") sounds quite odd to native Spanish speakers, as though it meant "to feel a bit French". Similarly, no estar católico does not mean "to no longer be Catholic", but is a colloquial expression meaning "to feel under the weather". Note how this is a state.

People studying Spanish as a second language often believe that the difference between the two verbs is "permanent" versus "temporary", but in the Spanish mind, the difference is "essential nature" versus "state or condition". The "essential nature" of things does sometimes change, and this is reflected in the language. For example, someone who had been depressed for a prolonged period, and then had a life changing experience like a new career or long-term relationship, might say ahora soy feliz, meaning "I am happy now".

[edit] Specific interpretations requiring ser

A special use of ser, which expresses neither a nature nor a state but an action, is the formation of the passive voice:

  • Han sido asesinados = "They have been murdered"
  • Serás juzgada = "You will be judged"

Note that the Spanish passive voice is rarer than in English, with other turns of phrase being used instead.

[edit] Specific interpretations requiring estar

Past participles

Estar is almost always used with adjectives that derive from past participles of verbs since the use of ser would sound like a verb in the passive voice. Such adjectives in any case generally refer to states:

  • La frontera está cerrada = "The border is closed"
  • Estoy casado = "I'm married" (Soy casado is also possible; note that "I'm single", "I'm widowed", etc all use ser, which shows that the only reason casado usually takes estar is that it is a participle, and not because Spanish speakers consider marriage to be some sort of temporary state!)

A special example of this tendency is what happens with words indicating prohibition and suchlike. If an adjective not deriving from a verb were used, then the meaning would definitely require ser. To say the same thing with a past participle, estar (or quedar) is required, in order to differentiate it from the use of ser with a past participle implying an action expressed in the passive voice:

  • Es ilegal fumar en este vuelo = "It is illegal to smoke on this flight" (straightforward case of ser)
  • Está prohibido fumar en este vuelo = "It is forbidden to smoke on this flight" (estar necessary to distinguish the sentence from the following one)
  • Ha sido prohibido fumar en este vuelo = "It has been forbidden (i.e. made against the rules) to smoke on this flight" (This is an example of the passive voice. This use of ser in the perfect tense is similar to the use of estar in the present tense; the former expressing an event in the past, the latter expressing its current effect.)

This fine nuance is not encountered in other Romance languages, which do not go to such lengths to distinguish between passives and similar-sounding phrases.

Location

Estar is used to refer to physical location. In the Spanish mind, location is a state, and therefore goes with estar, even in those cases (e.g. Madrid está en España "Madrid is in Spain") when one might think that it is something so permanent and fundamental that it could be logical to use ser. With immobile things, quedar is sometimes used instead of estar, especially when there is a reference to a length of time, or a remaining distance, e.g.:

  • ¿A cuánto queda la playa? / ¿A qué distancia queda la playa? = "How far away is the beach?"
  • Aún queda lejos = "There's still quite some way" / "It's still far"
  • El bar queda a cinco minutitos = "The bar's just five minutes away"

However, ser can sometimes occur with words such as aquí, which can mislead learners into thinking that physical location can be expressed with ser. In fact, the verb in this case identifies the place rather than expressing where it is. For example, one might say to a taxi driver the following phrases, to indicate that you have arrived:

  • Está aquí = "It's here"
  • Es aquí = "It's here"

The difference becomes clear if aquí is changed to esta calle:

  • Está en esta calle = "It's in this street"
  • Es esta calle = "It's this street"

Es aquí and es esta calle express the idea that "this is the place", a concept quite different from what is expressed by estar.

The only case in which true location is expressed by ser is when an event rather than a physical thing is referred to:

  • ¿Dónde es la fiesta? = "Where is the party?"
  • ¿Dónde está la sala de fiestas? = "Where is the discothèque?"

[edit] Words requiring ser

Ser is always used when the complement is a noun or pronoun, regardless of whether the speaker intended to express a fundamental essence (though in practice they do tend to express this):

  • Es una persona sucia = "He's a dirty person"
  • Es una persona abierta = "She's an open person"
  • Soy la víctima = "I'm the victim"

However, it is not always easy to know what is a noun. For example, pez is a noun meaning "fish", but estar pez is a colloquial expression meaning to be "rubbish" or "useless" at a given activity.

[edit] Words requiring estar

Estar must be used when the complement is bien or mal, no matter what meaning is intended.

  • Este libro está muy bien = Este libro es muy bueno = "This book is very good" (nature)
  • Estoy muy mal = Estoy muy malo = "I'm feeling terrible, ill" (state)

[edit] Total change of meaning with specific adjectives

There are many adjectives that change in meaning entirely depending on the verb used, sometimes meaning almost the opposite. Note that in each case the meaning which is more of a "nature" goes with ser and the meaning which is more of a "state" goes with estar.

adjective with estar with ser
aburrido "bored" "boring"
bueno "tasty", "sexy" "good"
cachondo "aroused" "sexy", "funny person"
cansado "tired" "tiring/tiresome"
listo "ready" "clever"
rico "delicious" "rich"
seguro "sure/certain" "safe"
vivo "alive" "lively", "bright"
Happiness

Although "sadness" is expressed fairly straightforwardly with triste, "happiness" is a little trickier. The quality of being joyous, lively and happy is expressed with ser alegre. This can describe people, music, colours, etc. Estar alegre expresses the state of being merry, often in practice actually meaning "drunk", "tipsy".

A person who is fundamentally happy in life is said to ser feliz; indeed la felicidad is that "happiness" that humans strive for. Although in the harsh real world this happiness often turns out to be a transitory state, a person may nevertheless declare soy feliz as a statement of optimism that goes beyond the description of today's mood that is expressed by any phrase with estar. As for such moods, they can be expressed with estar feliz, but this adjective is not really the appropriate one; estar contento is the better way of saying that one is at the present time feeling happy, content or glad.

When not a state but a change of state is referred to, the expression is quedar contento or alegrarse: quedó muy contenta cuando le dije que había ganado = "she was very glad when I told her she had won"; me alegro de que hayáis llegado = "I'm glad you've all come".

In the extract from the Cantar de Mio Cid above, one can see that "to be happy" a thousand years ago was ser pagado.

[edit] In Catalan

The Catalan copulae developed as follows:

  • ESSE → éssere → ésser → esser → ser
  • STARE → *estare → estar

The last three forms of the first verb survive in modern Catalan. Ésser is considered the most standard one, followed by ser and, distantly, esser.

In Catalan, ésser and estar work in a way somewhat reminiscent of an hybrid of that of Italian and that of Portuguese. The rather confusing rules are as follows (there's a vastly clarified summary at the end):

  • When referring to inanimate objects, ser is used to tell about either permanent conditions inherent to the object (for example és vermell, 'it is red'), unfinished qualities, or non-permanent conditions when there is no implication that there has been or there will be a change in state (for example, la sopa és calenta, 'the soup is hot.') Generally speaking, ser is used to talk about a quality of an inanimate object in a given moment (without paying attention to other moments) or exactly the opposite: a quality of an inanimate object which is expected to be true in all moments of the existence of said object. Most uses of past participles as adjectives fall into this category when referring to inanimate objects.
  • When referring to inanimate objects, estar is used to tell about non-permanent conditions when there is an implication of a finished change of state, an implication of a state in a known point of an evolution, or a temporal condition which is expected to change. In some way, estar introduces a somewhat adverbial sense to adjectives (for example, la sopa està calenta, 'the soup is hot', as in 'it has come to be hot.') Thus, both using ser and estar is correct in many contexts, but there's a difference in nuance.
  • When referring to animate objects, ser is only used to tell about permanent conditions (for example és boig, 'he is insane'; és mort, 'he is dead.') Things traditionally thought of as permanent conditions also fall under this category, most notably ser casat/da, 'to be married', and related terms. Ser is also used with the past participle of some inaccussative verbs, such as néixer, which in medieval and dialectal Catalan made their composite tenses with ser.
  • When referring to animate objects, estar is only used to tell about non-permanent conditions (for example estàs molt guapa, 'you look good' as in 'better than usual.')
  • With fixed prepositional locutions, estar is most often used (for example, està en perill, 'he/she/it is in danger'; està a punt, 'he/she/it is ready'.)
  • When referring to location, 'ser' is used when no time context is given (for example, els llibres són als prestatges, 'the books are on the shelves.')
  • When referring to location, 'estar' is used when there is a sense of permanence (for example estic a Barcelona, 'I live in Barcelona') or of a concrete time lapse (for example hi vam estar dues hores, 'we were there for two hours.) In this case, pronominal particles might be added to the verb to emphasise the sentence (for example, ens hi vam estar dues hores.)
  • Estar is always used with modal adverbs (for example estic bé, 'I'm alright').
  • Estar is used to form the present continuous form estar + infinitive, although some linguists think this is not a genuinely Catalan form, although it is found on Medieval literature, for exemple that of Ausiàs March. Another undoubtedly genuine but perhaps too literary form is ser a + infinitive.
  • Estat is used as the past participle of not only estar but also èsser/ser by many speakers, and this is considered the most universal form. However, many other speakers use a traditional regular p.p. of èsser/ser: sigut, which is also accepted as standard in Central Catalan, although many linguists and speakers see it as colloquial. Another accepted form is sét, unlike the Valencian form segut, which causes confusion with the past participle of the verb seure, 'to sit'. Google returns ~727,000 results for ha sigut, ~3.740.000 results for ha estat and ~35 results for ha sét.

Although this all is very confusing, it can be summed up in five simple rules:

  • Ser is always used to apply adjectives to inanimate objects except if there is a cause or a time lapse given for the condition of the adjective.
  • Estar is always used to apply adjectives to animate objects if it's not a permanent state or characteristic of such animate object. However, some things that nowadays can be changed but before couldn't (or weren't expected to) work like permanent characteristics (for example, nationality, beliefs, sex, looks, being married, degree of intelligence and degree of sanity.) Of course, even those can be expressed with estar if the animate object is acting as if they were his characteristics but they aren't, or if the characteristics are more emphasised than usual. For example, és molt socialista, 'she/he's a convinced socialist' vs. estàs molt socialista!, 'you're being very socialist!'; és molt maca, 'she's very beautiful' vs. està molt maca, 'she looks very beautiful', as in 'better than usual'; és mort, 'he's dead' vs. està com mort, 'he's acting as if he was dead.'
  • Ser is always used for locations except if there is a time lapse given or if the location actually means that someone works or lives in the indicated place.
  • Estar is always used with modal adverbs and equivalents like fixed prepositional locutions.
  • Estar is always used to express a point of an evolution or scale (for example, els termòmetres estan a 20 graus, 'thermometres are at 20 degrees'.)

It should be noted that animate objects refers mainly to people, animals, and whatever is thought to be sentient (for example, a child playing with a doll will probably treat is as an animate object.)

In Provençal, the copula is èsser or èstre.

[edit] In French

Old French had estre (ESSE → essere → *essre → estre) and ester (STARE → *estare → estar → ester), and distinguished between them in a similar way to other Romance languages. With phonetic evolution, the forms of each verb tended to be confused with one another, with the result that estre finally absorbed ester; around the same time, most words beginning with est- changed to ét- or êt-. The modern form of the verb is être.

The only clear trace of ester (or éter if we bear in mind the loss of the s) in the modern copula is the past participle: instead of the *étu one would expect, we find été — just what we would expect from ester/éter. The same tendency to use past participles derived from STATVM (the supine of STARE) to replace the past participles of the main copula is also seen in Italian and Catalan.

The present participle and all imperfect forms of être are regular and correspond to what one would expect for a verb with the stem êt-; however, they could also be considered as deriving from éter since the forms coincide.

All other forms of être are from SVM rather than STO.

Ester also survives in the infinitive in the set phrases ester en justice and ester en jugement, which translate the Latin term STARE IN IVDICIO meaning "to appear in court", "to stand before the court". Ester en justice has come to mean "to file a lawsuit", i.e. to appear in court as the active party.

The English verb "to stay" comes directly from ester.

[edit] In Italian

The Italian copulae did not undergo the same development as in other languages, and conserve the Vulgar Latin forms essere and stare.

Essere is the main copula. Stare refers to state rather than essence, but more narrowly than in Spanish. Essere is used for almost all cases in which English uses "to be". It therefore makes sense to concentrate on the few uses of stare.

  • Stare means "to be", "to be feeling", or "to appear" with bene, male, meglio, come?, etc.: Come stai? "How are you?", Sto bene "I'm well."
  • Stare is used to form continuous forms of tenses: sto aspettando "I am waiting", Stavo parlando con... "I was speaking with..."
  • Stare's past participle stato has replaced that of essere, and so stato is used for "been" in all senses.
  • Stare can mean "to stand" (usually stare in piedi) but this is common only in the expression stare per, "to stand for" i.e. in abbreviations.
  • Starci (lit. To stay in it) means "to fit"
  • Stare can be an alternative to restare "to stay"
  • Stare is occasionally "to be located". This is very common in the south of Italy.

Like the Spanish quedar, Italian uses rimanere (to remain) in the sense of "to be as a result" (e.g. È rimasta incinta = "she became pregnant (as a result)").

[edit] In Portuguese

The Portuguese copula estar derived from Latin STARE (to stand):

  • STARE → *estare → estar

The copula ser developed both from ESSE (to be) and SEDERE (to sit). Thus its inflectional paradigm is a combination of these two Latin verbs: most tenses derive from ESSE and a few from SEDERE. E.g. derivation from SEDERE:

  • SEDERE → seer → ser (infinitive)
  • SEDEAM → seja (1st person singular, present tense, subjunctive mood)

E.g. derivation from ESSE:

  • SUM → som → são → sou (1st pers. sing., present tense, indicative mood)
  • ERAM → era (1st pers. sing., imperfect past tense, indicative mood)
  • FUI → fui (1st pers. sing., preterite tense, indicative mood)

Note: ESSE was an irregular verb.

The distinction between the two verbs is very similar to that of Catalan. Compared to Spanish, estar is a little less used. There is perhaps a little more of a concept of permanent versus temporary, rather than essence versus state. The main difference between Spanish and Portuguese lies in the interpretation of the concept of state versus essence and in the generalisations in some constructions. For example, unlike Spanish, Portuguese does not require estar with past participles; in this case it follows the general rule regarding state/essence.

  • A cadeira é [feita] de madeira = "The chair is made [up] of wood".

The word feita "made" is usually omitted.

  • Eu sou casado = "I'm married".

The same applies to sentences expressing interdictions:

  • É proibido fumar neste voo "Smoking is forbidden in this flight".

However, there are some nuances in these verbs in the passive voice. In this case, the use of ser or estar depends on the tense of the verb. E.g.: to say that somebody is not allowed to smoke, only estar can be used in the present tense:

  • Está proibido de fumar [pelo pai] = "He is forbidden / has been forbidden from smoking [by his father]"; literally "He is forbidden to smoke [by his father]".

In past tenses, both ser and estar can be used, conveying a different meaning:

  • Foi proibido de fumar = "He was forbidden from smoking [at a particular occasion]".
  • Estava proibido de fumar = "He was / had been forbidden from smoking [for some time]".

Portuguese counts location as permanent and fundamental, and accordingly uses ser, or the more specific secondary copula ficar (to stay):

  • Lisboa fica em Portugal "Lisbon is [located] in Portugual".
  • Onde é/fica o apartamento dela? "Where is her flat/apartment?"

[edit] Nuance

  • Como és? = "What are you like?" (i.e. "Describe yourself" — characteristics).
  • Como estás? = "How are you?" (i.e. "How are you doing?" — state).
  • Ele é triste = "He is sad" (i.e. gloomy — characteristic).
  • (Ele) está triste = "He is [feeling] sad" (i.e. feeling down — state).
  • É aberta = "She's open" (i.e. "She's an open sort of person"; this sentence can have a pejorative meaning — characteristic).
  • Está aberta = "It's open" (probably referring to a door or window — state).
  • É sujo = "It's dirty" (i.e. "It's a dirty place/thing" — characteristic).
  • Está sujo = "It's dirty" (i.e. "The place is/looks dirty [now]" — state).

With adjectives referring to beauty and the like, ser means "to be", and estar means "to look".

  • Que linda ela é! = "She's so beautiful!" (characteristic).
  • Que linda ela está! = "She looks so beautiful!" (state).

As in Spanish, the differentiation between "nature" and "state" makes sense when talking about the states of life and death: Está vivo (He is alive); Está morto (He is dead). Notice the important difference between ser morto (to be killed) and estar morto (to be dead):

  • Ele foi morto [por um ladrão] = "He was killed [by a burglar]".

Unlike Spanish loco, louco (crazy) can be used with ser or estar, giving different connotations:

  • És louco! = "You're crazy!" (characteristic).
  • Estás louco! = "You've gone crazy!"/ "You're acting crazy" (state).

Ser is used with adjectives expressing:

  • fundamental belief Não sou católico "I'm not a Catholic";
  • nationality És português "You are Portuguese";
  • gender É um homem "He's a man";
  • intelligence Somos espertos "We are smart", etc.

As Catholicism is the main religion in most Lusophone countries, not being a Catholic is unusual. But the use of católico (Catholic) with estar has another (figurative) meaning:

  • Eu não estou muito católico = "I'm not feeling very well" (perhaps angry or ill or drunk).
  • O tempo hoje não está muito católico = "The weather is not very reliable today".

Apart from this exception, due to its different meanings, estar cannot be used for nationality, gender, or intelligence, but one can say Estou abrasileirado (I have been Brazilian-influenced — state) or Estás americanizado (You have been Americanised — state). The same applies for the difference between É um homem "He is a man" and Está um homem, meaning "He has grown up to be a man".

Ficar, apart from its use as "to stay", and the use mentioned above as a copula translated as "to be located", is extensively used for a change of state (sometimes quite sudden), being translated as "to get" or "to become":

  • Fiquei rico = "I got rich."
  • Ficou triste = "He got sad."

[edit] In Romanian

A fi, fire is the copula in Romanian. It evolved like this:

  • FIERI → fiere → fire → *fir → fi
  • STARE → sta

FIERI was the passive infinitive of "facere", to make, and so meant "to be made". In the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken in modern day Romania, its evolved form fiere replaced essere, maybe due to the similarity between the stem fi- of fiere and fu- of essere. The forms of the verb "a fi" are derived from essere: "sunt, esti, este, suntem, sunteti, sunt" at present tense and "eram, erai, era, eram, erati, erau" at imperfect.

"A sta" means "to stay" or even "to stand", "to stand still" or "to dwell/reside" e.g. " a sta in picioare", as in Italian "stare in piedi" or "unde stai?" - "where do you live/reside ?".

[edit] In Romansh

Esser means "to be", and Star is "to reside".

[edit] In Sicilian

The Sicilian copulae developed as follows:

  • ESSE → èssere → (es)sere → siri
  • STARE → stare → stari

In Sicilian the meanings and usages of these two copulae are not as vast as in the other languages. Siri is the dominant copula, even more so than in the other Romance Languages and is used for almost all cases in which English uses “to be”. Stari has been relegated to only a few common uses:

  • Stari is used in combination with the Gerund to form the Progressive tense: staiu parrannu = I am speaking.
  • Stari’s Past Participle, statu, replaced that of siri and thus statu is used for “been” in all senses.
  • Stari has also replaced all other words meaning "to reside": staiu nnê Stati Uniti = I live in the U.S.
  • Stari, in combination with addritta, is also used to mean “to stand up”.
  • Stari in combination with the preposition pi can comport two meanings, 1) when followed by a verb it means “about to” or “ready to”: staiu pi jiri = I’m about to go, I’m leaving; and 2) in reference to an abbreviation, it means “to stand for”: «Usa» sta pi Stati Uniti di Mèrica.
  • Stari-cci, while most likely an Italianism, it nevertheless is sometimes used to mean “to fit”: stu vistutu mi sta? = Does this suit fit me [well]?

It should be noted, in regards to siri as an auxiliary verb, that it is no longer in use as such. Aviri has completely replaced it in all verbs.

[edit] Conjugation

Here, only simple, one-word forms are given. All languages below also possess numerous compound tenses.

[edit] In Latin

SVM
  • Non-finite forms:
    • Present infinitive: ESSE
    • Future infinitive: FORE (FVTVRVM ESSE)
    • Future participle: FVTVRVS
    • Perfect infinitive: FVISSE
  • Indicative:
    • Present: SVM, ES, EST, SVMVS, ESTIS, SVNT
    • Imperfect: ERAM, ERAS, ERAT, ERAMVS, ERATIS, ERANT
    • Future: ERO, ERIS, ERIT, ERIMVS, ERITIS, ERVNT
    • Perfect: FVI, FVISTI, FVIT, FVIMVS, FVISTIS, FVERVNT
    • Pluperfect: FVERAM, FVERAS, FVERAT, FVERAMVS, FVERATIS, FVERANT
    • Future anterior: FVERO, FVERIS, FVERIT, FVERIMVS, FVERITVS, FVERINT
  • Subjunctive:
    • Present: SIM, SIS, SIT, SIMVS, SITIS, SINT
    • Imperfect: ESSEM, ESSES, ESSET, ESSEMVS, ESSETIS, ESSENT
    • Perfect: FVERIM, FVERIS, FVERIT, FVERIMVS, FVERITIS
    • Pluperfect: FVISSEM, FVISSES, FVISSET, FVISSEMVS, FVISSETIS, FVISSENT
  • Imperative: ES, ESTE
STO
  • Non-finite forms:
    • Present infinitive: STARE
    • Future participle: STATVRVS
    • Perfect infinitive: STETISSE
    • Gerund: STANDVM
    • Supine: STATV(M)
    • Present participle: STANS
  • Indicative:
    • Present: STO, STAS, STAT, STAMVS, STATIS, STANT
    • Imperfect: STABAM, STABAS, STABAT, STABAMVS, STABATIS, STABANT
    • Future: STABO, STABIS, STABIT, STABIMVS, STABITIS, STABVNT
    • Perfect: STETI, STETISTI, STETIT, STETIMVS, STETISTIS, STETERVNT
    • Pluperfect: STETERAM, STETERAS, STETERAT, STETERAMVS, STETERATIS, STETERANT
    • Future anterior: STETERO, STETERIS, STETERIT, STETERIMVS, STETERITIS, STETERINT
  • Subjunctive:
    • Present: STEM, STES, STET, STEMVS, STETIS, STENT
    • Imperfect: STAREM, STARES, STARET, STAREMVS, STARETIS, STARENT
    • Perfect: STETERIM, STETERIS, STETERIT, STETERIMVS, STETERITIS, STETERINT,
    • Pluperfect: STETISSEM, STETISSES, STETISSET, STETISSEMVS, STETISSETIS, STETISSENT,
  • Imperative: STA, STATE

[edit] In Castilian/Spanish

SER
Non-finite  
Infinitive ser
Gerund siendo
Past participle sido
Indicative yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos
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 yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos
  sería serías sería seríamos seríais serían
Subjunctive yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos
Present sea seas sea seamos seáis sean
Imperfect 1 fuera fueras fuera fuéramos fuerais fueran
Imperfect 2 fuese fueses fuese fuésemos fueseis fuesen
Future fuere fueres fuere fuéremos fuereis fueren
Imperative   tú usted   vosotros ustedes
    sé sea   sed sean
ESTAR
Non-finite  
Infinitive estar
Gerund estando
Past participle estado
Indicative yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos
Present estoy estás está estamos estáis están
Imperfect estaba estabas estaba estábamos estabais estaban
Preterite estuve estuviste estuvo estuvimos estuvisteis estuvieron
Future estaré estarás estará estaremos estaréis estarán
Conditional yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos
  estaría estarías estaría estaríamos estaríais estarían
Subjunctive yo tú él nosotros vosotros ellos
Present esté estés esté estemos estéis estén
Imperfect 1 estuviera estuvieras estuviera estuviéramos estuvierais estuvieran
Imperfect 2 estuviese estuvieses estuviese estuviésemos estuvieseis estuviesen
Future estuviere estuvieres estuviere estuviéremos estuviereis estuvieren
Imperative†   tú usted   vosotros ustedes
    está (estate) esté (estese)   estad (estaos) estén (estense)

† Estar is usually made reflexive in the imperative.

[edit] In Catalan

SER/ÉSSER
  • Non-finite:
    • Infinitive: ser/ésser
    • Past participle: estat/sigut/sét
    • Gerund: sent/essent
  • Indicative:
    • Present: sóc, ets, és, som, sou, són
    • Imperfect: era, eres, era, érem, éreu, eren
    • Preterite: fui, fores, fou, fórem, fóreu, foren
    • Future: seré, seràs, serà, serem, sereu, seran
  • Conditional:
    • seria, series, seria, seria, seríem, seríeu, serien / fóra, fores, fóra, fórem, fóreu, foren
  • Subjunctive:
    • Present: sigui, siguis, sigui, siguem, sigueu, siguin / siga, sigues, siga, siguem, sigueu, siguen
    • Imperfect: fos, fossis, fos, fóssim/fóssem, fóssiu/fósseu, fossin/fossen
  • Imperative:
    • sigues, sigueu/sigau
ESTAR
  • Non-finite:
    • Infinitive: estar
    • Past participle: estat
    • Gerund: estant
  • Indicative:
    • Present: estic, estàs, està, estem/estam, esteu/estau, estan
    • Imperfect: estava, estaves, estava, estàvem, estàveu, estaven
    • Preterite: estiguí, estigueres, estigué, estiguérem, estiguéreu, estigueren
    • Future: estaré, estaràs, estarà, estarem, estareu, estaran
  • Conditional:
    • estaria, estaries, estaria, estaríem, estaríeu, estarien
  • Subjunctive:
    • Present: estigui, estiguis, estigui, estiguem, estigueu, estiguin / estiga, estigues, estiga, estiguem, estigueu, estiguen
    • Imperfect: estigués, estiguessis, estigués, estiguéssim/estiguéssem, estiguéssiu/estiguésseu, estiguessin/estiguessen
  • Imperative:
    • estigues, estigueu/estigau

[edit] In French

ÊTRE
  • Non-finite:
    • Infinitive: être
    • Past participle: été
    • Gerund/present participle: étant
  • Indicative:
    • Present: suis, es, est, sommes, êtes, sont
    • Imperfect: étais, étais, était, étions, étiez, étaient
    • Past historic: fus, fus, fut, fûmes, fûtes, furent
    • Future: serai, seras, sera, serons, serez, seront
  • Conditional:
    • serais, serais, serait, serions, seriez, seraient
  • Subjunctive:
    • Present: sois, sois, soit, soyons, soyez, soient
    • Imperfect: fusse, fusses, fût, fussions, fussiez, fussent
  • Imperative:
    • sois, soyez

[edit] In Italian

ESSERE
  • Non-finite:
    • Infinitive: essere
    • Past participle: stato (from stare)
    • Gerund: essendo
  • Indicative:
    • Present: sono, sei, è, siamo, siete, sono
    • Imperfect: ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano
    • Past historic: fui, fosti, fu, fummo, foste, furono
    • Future: sarò, sarai, sarà, saremo, sarete, saranno
  • Conditional:
    • sarei, saresti, sarebbe, saremmo, sareste, sarebbero
  • Subjunctive:
    • Present: sia, sia, sia, siamo, siate, siano
    • Imperfect: fossi, fossi, fosse, fossimo, foste, fossero
  • Imperative:
    • sii, siate
STARE
  • Non-finite:
    • Infinitive: stare
    • Past participle: stato
    • Gerund: stando
  • Indicative:
    • Present: sto, stai, sta, stiamo, state, stanno
    • Imperfect: stavo, stavi, stava, stavamo, stavate, stavano
    • Past historic: stetti, stesti, stette, stemmo, steste, stettero
    • Future: starò, starai, starà, staremo, starete, staranno
  • Conditional:
    • starei, staresti, starebbe, staremmo, stareste, starebbero
  • Subjunctive:
    • Present: stia, stia, stia, stiamo, stiate, stiano
    • Imperfect: stessi, stessi, stesse, stessimo, steste, stessero
  • Imperative:
    • sta’, state

[edit] In Portuguese

SER
  • Non-finite:
    • Impersonal infinitive: ser
    • Past participle: sido
    • Gerund: sendo
    • Personal infinitive: ser, seres, ser, sermos, serdes, serem
  • 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:
    • sê, sede
ESTAR
  • Non-finite:
    • Impersonal Infinitive: estar
    • Past participle: estado
    • Gerund: estando
    • Personal infinitive: estar, estares, estar, estarmos, estardes, estarem
  • Indicative:
    • Present: estou, estás, está, estamos, estais, estão
    • Imperfect: estava, estavas, estava, estávamos, estáveis, estavam
    • Preterite: estive, estiveste, esteve, estivemos, estivestes, estiveram
    • Pluperfect: estivera, estiveras, estivera, estivéramos, estivéreis, estiveram
    • Future: estarei, estarás, estará, estaremos, estareis, estarão
  • Conditional:
    • estaria, estarias, estaria, estaríamos, estaríeis, estariam
  • Subjunctive:
    • Present: esteja, estejas, esteja, estejamos, estejais, estejam
    • Imperfect: estivesse, estivesses, estivesse, estivéssemos, estivésseis, estivessem
    • Future: estiver, estiveres, estiver, estivermos, estiverdes, estiverem
  • Imperative:
    • está, estai

[edit] In Romanian

FI
  • Non-finite:
    • Infinitive: a fi, fire
    • Past participle: fost
    • Gerund: fiind
  • Indicative:
    • Present: sunt, eşti, e(ste), suntem, sunteţi, sunt
    • Pluperfect: fusesem, fuseseşi, fusese, fuseserăm, fuseserăţi, fuseseră
    • Imperfect: eram, erai, era, eram, eraţi, erau
    • Preterite:
      1. fusei, fuseşi, fuse, fuserăm, fuserăţi, fuseră
      2. fui, fuşi, fu, furăm, furăţi, fură
      3. am fost, ai fost, a fost, am fost aţi fost, au fost;
    • Future:
      1. voi fi, vei fi, va fi, vom fi, veţi fi, vor fi
      2. o să fiu, o să fii, o să fie, o să fim, o să fiţi, o să fie
      3. oi fi, îi fi, a fi, om fi, îţi fi, or fi
    • Perfect Future:
      1. voi fi fost, vei fi fost, va fi fost, vom fi fost, veţi fi fost, vor fi fost
  • Conditional: aş fi, ai fi, ar fi, am fi, aţi fi, ar fi
  • Perfect Conditional: aş fi fost, ai fi fost, ar fi fost, am fi fost, aţi fi , ar fi fost
  • Subjunctive: să fiu, să fii, să fie, să fim, să fiţi, să fie
  • Perfect Subjunctive: să fi fost, să fi fost, să fi fost, să fi fost, să fi fost, să fi fost
  • Imperative: fii, fiţi

[edit] In Romansh

ESSER
  • Non-finite:
    • Infinitive: esser
    • Past participle: stà
    • Gerund: essend~siond
  • Indicative:
    • Present: sun, es, è, essan, essas, èn
    • Imperfect: era, eras, era, eran, eras, eran
  • Conditional:
    • fiss, fissas, fiss, fissan, fissas, fissan
  • Subjunctive:
    • Present: saja, sajas, saja, sajan, sajas, sajan
  • Imperative:
    • saja, sajas
STAR

[edit] In Sicilian

SIRI
Non-finite  
Infinitive siri
Gerund sennu
Past participle statu
Indicative eu tu iddhu nuiàvutri vuiàvutri iddhi
Present sugnu sì esti simu siti sù
Imperfect era eri era èramu èravu èranu
Preterite fui fusti fu fumu fùstivu furu
Future¹ - - - - - -
Conditional² eu tu iddhu nuiàvutri vuiàvutri iddhi
  fora fori fora fòramu fòravu fòranu
Subjunctive eu tu iddhu nuiàvutri vuiàvutri iddhi
Present fussi fussi fussi fùssimu fùssivu fùssiru
Imperfect fussi fussi fussi fùssimu fùssivu fùssiru
Imperative   tu vussìa³   vuiàvutri
    sì fussi   siti
STARI
Non-finite  
Infinitive stari
Gerund stannu
Past participle statu
Indicative eu tu iddhu nuiàvutri vuiàvutri iddhi
Present staiu stai sta stamu stati stannu
Imperfect stava stavi stava stàvamu stàvavu stàvanu
Preterite stesi stasti stesi stèsimu stàstivu stèsiru
Future¹ - - - - - -
Conditional² eu tu iddhu nuiàvutri vuiàvutri iddhi
  - - - - - -
Subjunctive eu tu iddhu nuiàvutri vuiàvutri iddhi
Present stassi stassi stassi stàssimu stàssivu stàssiru
Imperfect stassi stassi stassi stàssimu stàssivu stàssiru
Imperative   tu vussìa³   vuiàvutri
    stai stassi   stati

¹The Simple Future tense in Sicilian is no longer in use. However the Sicilian language enjoys several possible methods of expressing the Future tense:

1) by simply using the present indicative, usually preceded by an adverb of time:
Stasira vaju ô tiatru = This evening I [will] go to the theatre.
Crai ti scrivu = Tomorrow I [will] write to you.
2) by using a compound form consisting of the appropriate conjugation of aviri a in combination with the infinitive form of the verb in question:
Stasira hagghiu a jiri ô tiatru = This evening I will [/must] go to the theatre.
Crai t’agghiu a scrìviri = Tomorrow I will [/must] write to you.
In speech the contracted forms of aviri often come into play here:
hagghiu a → hê; ai a → â, havi a → hâ, avemu a → âmâ; aviti a → âtâ
Crai t'hê scrìviri = Tomorrow I will [/must] write to you.
3) by using a compound form consisting of the appropriate conjugation of jiri a in combination with the infinitive form of the verb in question:
Stasira vaju a jiri ô tiatru = This evening I'm going to the theatre.
Crai ti vaju a scrìviri = Tomorrow I’m going to write to you.

²In Sicilian the Conditional tense has also fallen into disuse. The Conditional has two tenses:

1) The Present tense, which is replaced by either:
i) the Present Indicative:
Cci chiamu siddhu mi duni lu sò nùmmaru = I [would] call her if you [would] give me her number, or
ii) the Imperfect Subjunctive:
Cci chiamassi siddhu mi dassi lu sò nùmmaru = I’d call her if you would give me her number; and
2) the Past tense, which is replaced by the Past Perfect Subjunctive:
Cci avissi jutu siddhu m’avissi dittu d’unni esti = I’d have gone if you would have told me where it is.
Note that in a hypothetical statement, both tenses are replaced by the Imperfect and Past Perfect of the Subjunctive:
Siddhu fussi riccu m’accattassi nu palazzu = If I were rich I would buy a palace.
Siddhu avissi travagghiatu nun avissi patutu la miseria = If I had worked I wouldn’t have suffered the misery.

³In Sicilian the 2nd person singular (polite) of the Imperative does not follow the same pattern as the rest of the tense. The 2nd person singular and plural employ the Present Indicative in place of the Imperative, while the 2nd person singular (polite), because of its formality, employs the Present Subjunctive, which makes it less of a command and more of a request.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

PDF documents, mainly on the Spanish copula
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../r/o/m/Romance_copula.html"