The Spanish verb ESTAR "to be"
A couple of lessons ago, we worked on the basic use of the verb “to be.” In this lesson we take a further look.
If you wanted to say, “I am sick,” or, “I am lost,” in Spanish, you’d be mistaken to use the “to be” verb that you previously learned, ser. Ser only describes permanent or nearly permanent states, such as being casado "married," being alto "tall," or being flaco "skinny."
The second “to be” verb in Spanish, estar, is used to describe location, health, or any condition that is only temporary. In the above example, you certainly don’t expect to be sick or lost forever.
The verb estar, has a straight-forward conjugation in the present tense:
| Pronoun | Present tense of ESTAR |
|---|---|
| yo | estoy |
| tú | estás |
| usted / él / ella | está |
| nosotros/as | estamos |
| vosotros/as | estáis |
| ustedes / ellos / ellas | están |
Note the placement of the accent marks as well. While está can mean he or she is or you are, esta means “this,” as in esta cosa or “this thing.” The accent marks, in addition to indicating the correct pronunciation, distinguish completely separate words.
Where am I?
The most common way of asking the location of an object, person or place is:
¿Dónde está…? "Where is…?"
For example:
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Important! Remember What You Learn
If you want to understand the answer, you need to learn some basic direction and location words.
Important Direction Words
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Forming DEL from DE and EL
Remember that the word de means "of"? Except for adelante, entre, and en, all the above direction words require de if they are followed by an object. For example:
- a la izquierda de la calle "to the left of the street"
- delante de la tienda "in front of the shop"
- cerca del parque "near the park"
- al lado del museo nacional "beside the national museum"
Hint: The words “de” + “el” form the contraction “del.”
More examples:
¿Dónde está el gato? "Where is the cat?"
El gato está al lado del perro. "The cat is beside the dog."
¿Dónde está el lápiz? "Where is the pencil?"
El lápiz está a la derecha de Maria. "The pencil is to Maria’s right."
¿Dónde está el baño? "Where is the bathroom?"
El baño está cerca de la oficina. "The bathroom is near the office."
Coming up next is a review of what you’ve learned in this part of the program.
How Do You Feel?
When you talk about how you feel--whether you be tired, sad, or sick--you are usually talking about a temporary state. Therefore, you should use the “to be” verb: estar.
How do you ask others how they feel?
| Subject pronoun | form of estar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| yo | ¿Cómo estoy? | How am I? |
| tú | ¿Cómo estás? | How are you? (e.g., to a friend) |
| usted. | ¿Cómo está usted? | How are you? (e.g., to your boss) |
| nosotros/as | ¿Cómo estamos? | How are we? |
| vosotros/as | ¿Cómo estáis? | How are you? (e.g. to a group of friends) |
| ustedes | ¿Cómo están ustedes? | How are you? (e.g., to a group of co-workers) |
Por ejemplo:
Check out more Spanish Verbs for useful info! Here are some recommended lessons:
- Spanish Verbs - Saber and Conocer
- Spanish Verbs in the Present Tense and Conjugations
- Spanish Verbs Decir & Dar
- Spanish Verbs Pedir and Preguntar
See you soon! ¡Hasta pronto!
Mauricio Evlampieff: Rocket Spanish