The choice is NOT automatic

Perhaps my biggest problem with the traditional approach is that we assume that the choice of verb is determined by what it is referring to. The sky’s blueness, for example, we would normally consider a characteristic. Accorrding to the traditional rules, then, we should automatically use ser. However, if we say “el cielo es azul”, we mean something different to “el cielo está azul”. In English, we could translate the first phrase as “the sky is blue”, and the second as “the sky is blue [as opposed to grey]”. The choice of verb we make depends on the nuance we want to convey, and is not automatically cued by whatever we’re talking about.

It’s all about your point of view

One of the most effective treatments of these two verbs was given by Navas Ruiz in 1963, who first theorised that the choice of verb is not down to metaphysics or philosophy, but the point of view that the speaker wants to express. Ser sets up an atemporal relationship, whereas estar sets up a temporal relationship. That means that when we use ser, we are abstracting the meaning from anything to do with time and duration. We could imagine it as a simple “=” sign. Estar establishes the possession of an attribute for a period of time. If it is affected by time, that means it can stop, be interrupted, and mutate. An example he gives is for the sentence “la nieve es blanca” vs “la nieve está blanca” (both translated as “the snow is white”). In the first example, the speaker is attributing whiteness to the snow, and in that moment it coudn’t be anything else, or at least the speaker is not concerned about whether it will become anything else – it is atemporal. In the second instance, the speaker is emphasising that the snow is white but is susceptible to change – it could become dirty or less white. It’s the difference in meaning in English when we say a)”Snow is white” b)”Look how white the snow is today (as opposed to yellow, for example )”.

Location, location, location

Choosing ser or estar with location often presents difficulties. Typically, when locating something physical we will use estar, as it’s accepted that location is temporary: