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EVOLUTION 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. Today, 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:
''Notes on the use of Latin words:''
''Note on the conjugations:'' Only the basic simple tenses are given, but all languages below have also numerous compound tenses. SPANISH ''See also Spanish Language , Spanish Grammar '' and '' Spanish Verbs ''. The Spanish copulae are ''ser'' and ''estar''. The former developed as follows:
The copula ''ser'' developed from two Latin verbs. Thus its inflectional paradigm is a combination: most of it derives from SVM (to be) but the present subjunctive appears to come from SEDEO (to sit) via the old Spanish verb ''seer''. E.g. derivation from SEDEO: :SEDEAM → ''sea'' (1st person singular, present tense, subjunctive mood) Derivation from SVM: :SVMVS → ''somos'' (1st person plural, present tense, indicative mood, though it may be that people never actually said "sumus" in Spain, because the Old Latin form was ''somos'', too.) The infinitive (on which the modern future and conditional are based) could have derived from either or both: :ESSE → ''èssere'' (as in Italian) → ''ésser'' (as in Catalan) → ''ser''
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". Ser † Archaic. Estar † Archaic. †† ''Estar'' is usually made reflexive in the imperative. Nuance Es sucio Está sucio Es abierta Está abierta Es triste Está triste ¿Cómo eres? ¿Cómo estás? With adjectives referring to beauty and the like, ''ser'' means "to be", and ''estar'' means "to look". ¡Qué guapa es! ¡Qué guapa está! 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 Es un viejo Cuando era niña However, age can also be presented not as a matter of identity but a state: Está viejo 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". 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 Serás juzgada Note that the Spanish passive voice is rarer than in English, with other turns of phrase being used instead. 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 Estoy casado 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 Está prohibido fumar en este vuelo Ha sido prohibido fumar en este vuelo 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? Aún queda lejos El bar queda a cinco minutitos 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 Es aquí The difference becomes clear if ''aquí'' is changed to ''esta calle'': Está en esta calle Es esta calle ''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? ¿Dónde está la sala de fiestas? 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 Es una persona abierta Soy la víctima 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. 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 Estoy muy mal 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''. ;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 excerpt from the ''Cantar de Mio Cid'' above, one can see that "to be happy" a thousand years ago was ''ser pagado''. PORTUGUESE The Portuguese copulae are ''ser'' and ''estar''. As in Spanish, ''estar'' derived from Latin STO:
The copula ''ser'' developed both from SVM and SEDEO. Thus its inflectional paradigm is a combination of these two Latin verbs: most tenses derive from SVM and a few from SEDEO. E.g. derivation from SEDEO: :SEDERE → ''seer'' → ''ser'' (infinitive) :SEDEAM → ''seja'' (1st person singular, present tense, subjunctive mood) E.g. derivation from SVM: :SUM → ''som'' → ''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: SVM was an irregular verb. Ser Estar † Mostly literary. †† Some authors regard the conditional as a tense of the indicative mood. Usage 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 The word ''feita'', "made", is usually omitted. Eu sou casado 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'' pai'' = "He has been forbidden from smoking his father "; literally "He is forbidden to smoke 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 a particular occasion ". : ''Estava proibido de fumar'' = "He was forbidden from smoking 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 Onde é/fica o apartamento dela? Nuance Como és? Como estás? Ele é triste (Ele) está triste É aberta Está aberta É sujo Está sujo With adjectives referring to beauty and the like, ''ser'' means "to be", and ''estar'' means "to look". Que linda ela é! Que linda ela está! As in Spanish, the differentiation between "nature" and "state" makes sense when talking about the states of life and death: ''Está vivo'' (He's alive); ''Está morto'' (He's dead). Notice the important difference between ''ser morto'' (to be killed) and ''estar morto'' (to be dead): Ele foi morto Unlike Spanish ''loco'', ''louco'' (crazy) can be used with ''ser'' or ''estar'', giving different connotations: És louco! Estás louco! ''Ser'' is used with adjectives expressing:
''Estar católico'' is used with the same sense as in Spanish: Eu não estou muito católico O tempo hoje não está muito católico 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." CATALAN The Catalan copulae developed as follows: :ESSE → ''éssere'' → ''ésser'' → ''esser'' → ''ser''
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''. (És)ser Estar Usage In Catalan, ''ésser'' and ''estar'' work in a way somewhat intermediate between those of Italian and Portuguese. The rather complex description is as follows (there's a clarified summary below):
This 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''. ITALIAN The Italian copulae did not undergo the same development as in other languages, having preserved the Vulgar Latin forms ''essere'' and ''stare''. Essere Stare Usage ''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''.
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)". SICILIAN The Sicilian copulae developed as follows: :ESSE → ''èssere'' → ''(es)sere'' → ''siri'' :STARE → ''stare'' → ''stari'' Siri Stari Notes: #The simple future is no longer in use. #The conditional tense of ''stari'' has also fallen into disuse. Usage 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:
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. ROMANSH Romansh has just one copula, ''esser''. ''Star'' means "to reside". Esser FRENCH
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 Phrase s ''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''. Être † Literary. ROMANIAN ''A fi, fire'' is the copula in Romanian . It evolved from the verb FACIO, "to make":
FIERI was the passive infinitive of FACIO, 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, ești, e(ste), suntem, sunteți, sunt'' in the present tense and ''eram, erai, era, eram, erați, erau'' in the imperfect. :STARE → ''sta'' ''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?" Fi SOURCES OF THE ROMANCE COPULAE SVM
STO
Morphological comparison While the Passive Voice became completely Periphrastic in Romance, the active voice has been morphologically preserved to a greater or lesser extent. The tables below compare the Conjugation of the Latin verbs SVM and STO in the active voice with that of the Romance copulae, their descendants. For simplicity, only the 1st. person plural is listed for Finite Forms . #Literary only, in the modern language. #The Future Indicative Tense does not derive from the Latin form (which tended to be confounded with the preterite due to sound changes in Vulgar Latin), but rather from an infinitive + HABEO periphrasis which was later Reanalysed as a simple tense. #Formally identical to the Future Perfect Indicative except in the first person singular. The two paradigms merged in Vulgar Latin. #Disused in modern Spanish. #Full conjugation (of ''ser''): ''ser, seres, ser, sermos, serdes, serem''.WILLIAMS, E.B. ''From Latin to Portuguese'' In spite of the remarkable continuity of form, several tenses have changed meaning, especially subjunctives.
REFERENCES Notes Bibliography
SEE ALSO
FURTHER READING ; PDF documents, mainly on the Spanish copula:
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