The verbs <em>ser</em> and <em>estar</em> in Spanish are the equivalent of the verb <em>to be</em> in English. The verb <em>estar</em> is mainly used to indicate locations, feelings, emotions, and other temporary states, and to form the progressive tense, and the verb <em>ser</em> is used to indicate occupations, nationalities, origin, personality traits, description of characteristics in general, the time (days, dates, years, and the time on the clock), the general weather of a region and relationships (e.g. he's my boyfriend). Overall, while the former talks about temporary states, the latter talks about lasting states (there are exceptions, of course!).
Here's how they are conjugated:
ESTAR: Yo estoy, nosotros estamos, tú estás, ustedes/ellos están, él/ella/eso está.
SER: Yo soy, nosotros somos, tú eres, ustedes/ellos son, él/ella/eso son.
<u>ANSWERS:</u>
1. Aquí están las fotos de mis vacaciones en España. Mira, son muy bonitas.
The verb <em>están</em> indicates location: <em>Aquí</em> (<em>here</em>), and <em>son</em> indicates a description of the photo.
2. Aquí <u>estoy</u> con mi familia en la playa cerca de Barcelona. Esta chica <u>es</u> mi prima, Maribel.
<em>estoy</em> indicates location, <em>es</em> indicates a family tie (a relationship).
3. Marisol <u>es</u> de Argentina y <u>es</u> profesora de japonés en la Universidad de Barcelona.
<em>es</em> indicates nationality and occupation.
4. En esta foto <u>estamos</u> jugando a las cartas en la cabaña porque <u>está</u> lloviendo.
<em>Estamos</em> is used to form the progressive present tense, and <em>está</em> is also used to form the progressive present tense.
5. Normalmente (normally), el clima de España <u>es</u> muy agradable. ¡<u>Es</u> un país fabuloso!
<em>es</em> is indicating the general weather of Spain, while the second <em>es</em> is used to talk about a characteristic of Spain.
