ser

Meaning

Verb

1. (copulative) to be
2. (auxiliary) to be; forms the passive voice
3. (intransitive) to be (to have as one’s place of origin)
4. (intransitive) to be (someone’s); to belong to
5. (intransitive) to be for; to be to (to have as its purpose)
6. (intransitive) to be; indicates persistence or reiteration

Noun

being (living creature)

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈseɾ/

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese ser, from Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse. The forms son (“I am”) and sodes pl (“you are”) derive from a Vulgar Latin *sonō and *sutis.
Along the way, the verb absorbed Old Galician-Portuguese seer < Latin sedēre (“sit”). The latter supplied the present subjunctive of modern ser, where /-ʃ-/ reflects Late Latin /-(d)j-/, as in sexa < sedeat).

Sentences

E así debeu ser ó primeiro .

It must have been the first one.

Vostede imaxina o que pode ser iso , ¿ non ?

You can imagine what that could be, right?

Declarou axiña querer ser o papa da paz .

He soon declared his desire to be the pope of peace.

Ademais esixíaselles ser fillos de pais libres .

We are called to be children of free parents.

Pode ser considerado a antropoloxía da música .

It can be considered the anthropology of music.

Unha posible causa da morte puido ser encefalite tras unha crise nerviosa .

One possible cause of death may have been encephalitis following a nervous breakdown.

Pode ser considerada unha lingua tanto lóxica como filosófica .

It can be considered a logical as well as a philosophical language.

Vostede debe de ser unha profesora experta —comentou.

“You must be an expert teacher,” he said.