Describing people in Spanish · él, ella, ustedThe Gossip Part 1

Talking about someone else

Until now everything has been yo and tú: you and the person in front of you. Now you can talk about a third person: él (he), ella (she), and usted, the polite "you".

Good news: you already know almost every form. Look at tú and take off the -s:

Ser is the only rebel: eres becomes es, not ere.

Him and her

• Se llama Diego.His name is Diego.
• Es de Guadalajara.He's from Guadalajara.
• Tiene treinta años.He's thirty.
• Vive en Cancún.She lives in Cancún.
• Quiere aprender inglés.She wants to learn English.
• Está cansada.She's tired.

Usted: the polite "you"

Usted is "you" for someone older, your boss or a stranger in a formal setting. It uses the same forms as él and ella:

In Mexico, use usted with older people, at the bank, with a doctor, or with your partner's parents the first time you meet them. If they want tú, they'll tell you: Háblame de tú (call me tú).

What someone looks like

For looks, use ser for the person and tener for hair and eyes:

Looks

• Es alto. / Es alta.He's tall. / She's tall.
• Es bajo. / Es baja.He's short. / She's short.
• Es delgado.He's slim.
• Es guapa.She's good-looking.
• Es joven.He's young.
• Tiene el pelo largo.She has long hair.
• Tiene el pelo negro.He has black hair.
• Tiene los ojos cafés.She has brown eyes.
• Usa lentes.He wears glasses.

What someone is like

For personality, use ser too:

Personality

• Es simpática.She's nice, friendly.
• Es amable.He's kind.
• Es divertido.He's fun.
• Es inteligente.She's smart.
• Es trabajador. / Es trabajadora.He's / She's hard-working.
• Es un poco tímido.He's a bit shy.
• Es muy buena onda.She's really cool, a great person.

Make the adjective match

Adjectives follow the person, just like nouns in the gender class:

And they go after the noun: un chico alto, una mujer simpática.

✍️ Quick check

0/3

1. 1.Mi hermana ___ de Texas. (My sister is from Texas.)

   eresesestá

2. 2.Mi mamá es muy ___. (My mom is very nice.)

   simpáticosimpática

3. 3.To your friend's grandfather: ¿Cómo ___? (What's your name?)

   te llamasse llama

The ser vs estar trap

Remember ser vs estar? With people it matters even more, because some adjectives change meaning. Ser describes what someone is like; estar describes how they are right now:

Common mistakes

• ✗Mi hermana es alto.

  ✓Mi hermana es alta.

  The adjective matches the person.

• ✗Ella tienes 25 años.

  ✓Ella tiene 25 años.

  For él and ella, drop the -s: tiene.

• ✗Él es un doctor.

  ✓Él es doctor.

  No un before a job, for anybody.

• ✗Mi novia está alta.

  ✓Mi novia es alta.

  Height is what she's like: ser.

• ✗Mi papá es cansado hoy.

  ✓Mi papá está cansado hoy.

  Tired today is how he is right now: estar.

• ✗La comida es buena. (to say it tastes good)

  ✓La comida está buena. / La comida está rica.

  How food tastes right now is estar.

Put it together

Here's the sentence from class:

Mi hermana es alta y muy simpática.

• es: ser with ella, because it's what she's like
• alta: feminine, to match hermana
• simpática: feminine too, and muy makes it stronger

And now some friendly gossip:

1. Oye, ¿quién es él?

   Hey, who's he?

2. Es Diego, mi primo. Es de Guadalajara.

   That's Diego, my cousin. He's from Guadalajara.

3. ¿Y cómo es?

   And what's he like?

4. Es muy simpático y un poco tímido. Y es muy trabajador.

   He's really nice and a bit shy. And he's very hard-working.

5. ¿Cuántos años tiene?

   How old is he?

6. Tiene treinta. Y tiene novia: se llama Carla.

   He's thirty. And he has a girlfriend: her name is Carla.

7. ¿Y cómo es ella?

   And what's she like?

8. Es alta, tiene el pelo largo y es muy buena onda. Pero hoy no está aquí: está en Cancún.

   She's tall, she has long hair and she's really cool. But she's not here today: she's in Cancún.

Now make it yours: describe someone in your family in five sentences. Their name, where they're from, how old they are, what they look like and what they're like.

Test yourself

✍️ Six quick questions

0/6

1. 1.Mi papá ___ 60 años.

   tieneestienes

2. 2.Mi amiga ___ en Chicago. (lives)

   vivesvivevivo

3. 3.Los tacos están buenos means…

   The tacos are good for you.The tacos taste good.

4. 4.Mi jefa es muy ___. (hard-working)

   trabajadortrabajadora

5. 5.¿Cómo ___ tu novio? (What's your boyfriend like?)

   esestá

6. 6.To an older woman you just met: ¿De dónde ___?

   ereses

All the forms

Full present-tense charts

Nosotros and ellos are next class. Here's the whole picture for when you need it. We teach Mexican Spanish, so there's no vosotros: ustedes is "you all", for friends and strangers alike.

	yo	tú	él / ella / usted	nosotros	ellos / ustedes
ser	soy	eres	es	somos	son
estar	estoy	estás	está	estamos	están
tener	tengo	tienes	tiene	tenemos	tienen
querer	quiero	quieres	quiere	queremos	quieren
vivir	vivo	vives	vive	vivimos	viven
llamarse	me llamo	te llamas	se llama	nos llamamos	se llaman