Skip to content
fluentbyear

SPANISH VERB

estar

to be, right now or somewhere

  • #2 most used
  • Irregular -ar verb
  • Gerund: estando
  • Past participle: estado

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. yo I am
  2. tú you are
  3. usted, él, ella he/she is
  4. nosotros we are
  5. vosotros Spain you all are
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they are

Past

Pretérito indefinido · finished actions

  1. yo I was
  2. tú you were
  3. usted, él, ella he/she was
  4. nosotros we were
  5. vosotros Spain you all were
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they were

Imperfect

Pretérito imperfecto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. yo I used to be
  2. tú you used to be
  3. usted, él, ella he/she used to be
  4. nosotros we used to be
  5. vosotros Spain you all used to be
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they used to be

Future

Futuro · plans and promises; in speech, “voy a hablar” is just as common

  1. yo I will be
  2. tú you will be
  3. usted, él, ella he/she will be
  4. nosotros we will be
  5. vosotros Spain you all will be
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they will be

Conditional

Condicional · “would”

  1. yo I would be
  2. tú you would be
  3. usted, él, ella he/she would be
  4. nosotros we would be
  5. vosotros Spain you all would be
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas they would be

Present subjunctive

Presente de subjuntivo · wishes, doubts, “que …”

  1. yo (that) I be
  2. tú (that) you be
  3. usted, él, ella (that) he/she be
  4. nosotros (that) we be
  5. vosotros Spain (that) you all be
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (that) they be

Past subjunctive

Imperfecto de subjuntivo · “if I were”, “si …”

  1. yo (if) I were
  2. tú (if) you were
  3. usted, él, ella (if) he/she were
  4. nosotros (if) we were
  5. vosotros Spain (if) you all were
  6. ustedes, ellos, ellas (if) they were

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders; a negative one uses the subjunctive (no hables)

  1. tú be!
  2. usted be! (formal)
  3. nosotros be! (let’s)
  4. vosotros Spain be! (all of you)
  5. ustedes be! (all of you)

How to use estar

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    ¿Dónde están mis llaves del coche?

    Where are my car keys?

  2. Past

    Ayer estuve todo el día en casa.

    Yesterday I was at home all day.

  3. Imperfect

    Estábamos cansados después del viaje.

    We were tired after the trip.

  4. Future

    ¿A qué hora estarás en el aeropuerto?

    What time will you be at the airport?

  5. Conditional

    Sin ti, la fiesta estaría muy aburrida.

    Without you, the party would be very boring.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Ojalá que tu papá esté mejor pronto.

    I hope your dad is better soon.

  7. Past subjunctive

    Si estuvieras aquí, todo sería más fácil.

    If you were here, everything would be easier.

  8. Imperative

    Esté tranquilo, señor, ya viene el doctor.

    Stay calm, sir, the doctor is on his way.

Good to know

  • Estar de acuerdo is to agree, and estar a punto de is to be about to.

Where you hear estar

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Spanish · Beginner Level 1

  • Hoy estoy muy cansada. Today I'm very tired.
  • Ayer estuve en el mercado. Yesterday I was at the market.
  • Mañana voy a estar en Oaxaca. Tomorrow I'm going to be in Oaxaca.

Spanish · Beginner Level 2

  • Estoy un poco preocupada. I'm a little worried.
  • Estaba en el camión. I was on the bus.
  • Todo va a estar bien. Everything is going to be OK.
1
Welcome to Mexico

Beginner Level 1 · estás

Free 3
This Is Your Room

Beginner Level 1 · estamos · Aquí estamos. · dónde está · Está allá.

Needs a subscription 9
I Need a Phone Chip

Beginner Level 1 · Aquí está.

Needs a subscription 10
How Was Your Day?

Beginner Level 1 · estuvo · Estuvo bien.

Needs a subscription 11
By Metro or by Taxi?

Beginner Level 1 · Está bien.

Needs a subscription 25
What Did You See?

Beginner Level 1 · estuve · estuvieron

Needs a subscription 30
I'm Staying!

Beginner Level 1 · va a estar

Needs a subscription 16
We Climbed the Mountain

Beginner Level 2 · estaba

Needs a subscription 18
They Stole My Phone

Beginner Level 2 · estabas

Needs a subscription 19
Don't Move!

Beginner Level 2 · va a estar

Needs a subscription 25
Have You Ever Tried Them?

Beginner Level 2 · estado

Needs a subscription 26
Everybody Was Dancing

Beginner Level 2 · estaban

Needs a subscription

And 34 more lessons.

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular -ar verb.