son de
/son de/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "they are from" is translated as son de.
The phrase is used to state the place of origin or nationality of a group of people.
Which one should you use?
While son de is the standard way to indicate origin using the verb ser, avoid using están de (from the verb estar), as that would imply a temporary state or location rather than a permanent origin.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, there is a tendency to use ser natural de to convey someone's origin.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form son de is used for both masculine and feminine plural subjects. Specifically, you can use Ellos son de… for a mixed-gender group and Ellas son de… for a group of females.
How do you pronounce it?
/son de/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, saying son de followed by a specific neighborhood rather than a city is a common way to signal a person's social class or family history.
- While son de describes origin, the word son is also the Spanish word for 'sounds'. This creates a pun where son de can mean 'they are from' or 'they are sounds of'.
- The word de in son de descends from the Latin dē, which originally meant 'down from' or 'away from'.
Examples in context
- Ellas son de los Estados Unidos.They are from the United States.This sentence demonstrates how to use son de to state that a group is from the United States.Tatoeba #463153 by lukaszpp, translation #463152 by lukaszpp
- Ellos son de Francia.They are from France.
- Ellas son de México.They are from Mexico.
- Son provenientes de Italia.They are from Italy.
- Son provenientes de Argentina.They are from Argentina.
- Son de Brasil.They are from Brazil.
- Son de Chile.They are from Chile.
- Ellos son originarios de Canadá.They are from Canada.
- Ellos vienen de Australia.They come from Australia.
- Mis amigos son de España.My friends are from Spain.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía are talking about some new neighbors.
- Alejandro¿Sabes de dónde son los vecinos?Do you know where the neighbors are from?
- SofíaSí, ellos son de Italia.Yes, they are from Italy.
- Alejandro¡Qué bien! Me encanta ese país.That's great! I love that country.
- SofíaA mí también me gusta mucho.I like it a lot too.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, son, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
