Ser
 
The irregular verb ‘ser‘, meaning ‘to be’, is the most frequently used verb in the Spanish language.
It is a confusing verb to say the least as it is one of two verbs in Spanish that mean ‘to be’, the other being ‘estar’.
In English, both ‘ser’ and ‘estar’ may well have 
the same meaning but each of them are very distinctive verbs but even 
though this is the case it can be very hard to explain one without 
making reference to the other and for newcomers to the Spanish language,
 the confusion about the choice of using ‘ser’ or ‘estar’ is almost inevitable to begin with!
Here we have a basic conjugation of the verb ‘ser’ in the present tense only.
(For a complete and printable conjugation sheet, click on the image on the left or here)
Yo soy  
I am  
Tú eres  
You are (familiar)  
Él es  
He is  
Ella es  
She is  
Nosotros somos  
We are  
Vosotros sois  
You are  
Ellos son  
They are  
 ‘Ser’ is used to explain the following:
1. Identity: If you are announcing yourself you use ser.
Yo soy Juan  
I am John  
Nosotros somos la familia de Martinez  
We are the Martinez family  
2. Occupation:
Yo soy un estudiante  
I am a student  
Tú eres médico  
You are a doctor  
3. Characteristics or Quality:
El niño es alto  
The boy is tall  
Nosotros somos inteligentes  
We are intelligent  
4. Origin:
Nosotros somos de España  
We are from Spain  
Vosotros sois mejicanos  
You are Mexican  
5. Possession:
Los libros son míos  
The books are mine  
6. Time, Date or Day:
¿Qué hora es? Son las cuatro  
What time is it? It is four o’clock  
Hoy es miércoles  
Today is Wednesday  
7. Religious, Political or ideological affiliation:
Ella es hindú  
She is Hindu  
Ellas son comunistas  
They(feminine)are communists  
8. Location of an event:
El concierto es en la playa  
The concert is on the beach  
La fiesta será en mi casa  
The party will be at my house  
9. Impersonal expressions:
Es importante  
It is important  
Es mi elección  
It’s my choice  
Fue difícil pero necesario  
It was difficult but necessary  
Es sorprendente que no puedas hacerlo  
It is surprising that you can’t do it  
10. The material that something is made from:
La casa es de madera  
The house is made of wood  
11. Relationships:
Ana es mi madre  
Ana is my mother  
12. Passiveness: The use of past participles to form the passive voice is much less common in Spanish than it is in English.
La canción fue oída  
The song was heard  
Son usados para comer  
They are used for eating  
El governador fue arrestado en su propia casa  
The governor was arrested in his own home  
Other posts and pages about Ser that you may find interesting:
How to Conjugate Ser in the Preterite Tense