Uses of verb TO BE In Spanish we have two verbs that translate 'to be' and these are: SER and ESTAR
There are several uses for each of them...
Let's start with <em>some</em> of the uses of the verb SER
We use 'ser' to describe where someone or something comes from, such as in the following examples:
<em>Soy </em>de Argentina. (I am from Argentina)
La pintura <em>es</em> de Honduras. (The painting is from Honduras)
In this case you need to use the preposition DE which means 'from'

Also we use it to describe someone's qualities or characteristics, such as in the following examples:
Mis padres <em>son</em> viejos. (My parents are old)
Nosotros <em>somos</em> inteligentes. (We are inteligent)
<em>Eres</em> mi mejor amigo. (You are my best friend)

You might have notices that the pronoun Tú was droped in the last example.  We do that all the time, since each of the person conjugates the verb in it's unique way the person is often implied.  However it's nothing wrong if you say 'tú eres mi mejor amigo'.

There are other uses of the verb SER but I recommend you get some practice with these usages before you move on to more complex structures.

In case you have never seen it before here is the conjugation in the present of the verb SER (To be)
Yo <em>soy</em> (I am)
Tú <em>eres</em> (you are)
Él <em>es</em> (he is)
Ella <em>es </em>(she is)
Ud. <em>es</em> (you formal is)
Nosotros <em>somos</em> (we are m.)
Nosotras <em>somos </em>(we are f.
Ellos <em>son </em>(they are m.)
Ellas <em>son</em> (they are f.)

Hope this help!
italki me to practice whenever you can! <img src="/FCKeditor/editor/images/smiley/msn/wink_smile.gif" alt="" />