Zosimus

It's not about what's best for beginners. The problem is that your language is far too strong. You said, "Ser is used for anything permanent." Really? Anything permanent should use ser? Okay. John's dead. That's permanent. Should I say John es muerto? No, the correct phrase is: John está muerto. Now, no one is saying that some general guidelines couldn't be spelled out that will work for students in many cases. I am simply objecting to oversimplifications introduced with excessively strong language.

First of all, it is not true that es is for permanent factors and está is for temporary ones. This is an over simplification. For example, if you want to say that Mexico is in North America, you might think that you should use es, because Mexico's location is permanent (short of an act of God). However, está is the correct word. You can use está to locate something in physical space (here, there, on the moon, etc.) and es to locate it in time so if you want to say that the party is next week or was yesterday you would use a form of ser not a form of estar. Now admittedly sometimes this rule of "temporary vs. permanent" may work out, but there are plenty of exceptions. You would say "Maria es abogada" even though she can change careers if she wants. Similarly, you might say "El coche es rojo" even though you can paint it a different color if you choose.

Hace tiempo que no aprendo una nueva palabra. Me da pena pero creo que no avanzo nada. Es que no sé como encontrar nuevas palabras. Creo que debería leer más pero no sé qué leer. Siento que he llegado a un estancamiento. ¿Habrá alguién por aca que me pueda dar un consejo? Ojalá que sí.