How to conjugate Estar in Spanish
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Indicative tenses of Estar
- Estar in the Indicative Present
- Estar in the Indicative Preterite
- Estar in the Indicative Imperfect
- Estar in the Indicative Future
- Estar in the Indicative Conditional
- Estar in the Indicative Present Perfect
- Estar in the Indicative Past Perfect
- Estar in the Indicative Future Perfect
- Estar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
- Subjunctive tenses of Estar
- Estar in the Subjunctive Present
- Estar in the Subjunctive Imperfect
- Estar in the Subjunctive Future
- Estar in the Subjunctive Present Perfect
- Estar in the Subjunctive Past Perfect
- Estar in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
- Imperative tenses of Estar
- Estar in the Imperative Affirmative
- Estar in the Imperative Negative
- Example sentences and usage
Introduction
Estar is another Spanish verb which means "to be". In contrast to Ser, Estar is generally used to portray more temporary feelings or situations. For example: I am not at home, you are angry, she is at the concert, this cake is delicious, we are singing a song, this restaurant is very popular. This is an important and versatile verb that you will use in everyday life. Estar is also irregular in most cases, meaning you will need to learn the conjugations off by heart.
| Spanish | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | estar | to be (temporary) |
| Past participle | estado | been |
| Gerund | estando | being |
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Indicative Tenses of Estar
Estar in the Indicative Present
The Indicative Present of estar is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, "estoy cansado", meaning "I am tired".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy | I am |
| Tú | estás | you are |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está | s/he is, you (formal) are |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos | we are |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis | you (plural) are |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están | they are, you (plural formal) are |
Estar in the Indicative Preterite
The Indicative Preterite of estar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, "estuve cansado", meaning "I was tired".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estuve | I was |
| Tú | estuviste | you were |
| Ella / Él / Usted | estuvo | s/he were, you (formal) were |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estuvimos | we were |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estuvisteis | you (plural) were |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | estuvieron | they were, you (plural formal) were |
Estar in the Indicative Imperfect
The Indicative Imperfect of estar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, "estaba cansado", meaning "I used to be tired".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estaba | I used to be |
| Tú | estabas | you used to be |
| Ella / Él / Usted | estaba | s/he used to be, you (formal) used to be |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estábamos | we used to be |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estabais | you (plural) used to be |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | estaban | they used to be, you (plural formal) used to be |
Estar in the Indicative Future
The Indicative Future of estar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, "estaré cansado", meaning "I will be tired".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estaré | I will be |
| Tú | estarás | you will be |
| Ella / Él / Usted | estará | s/he will be, you (formal) will be |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estaremos | we will be |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estaréis | you (plural) will be |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | estarán | they will be, you (plural formal) will be |
Estar in the Indicative Conditional
The Indicative Conditional of estar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, "estaría cansado", meaning "I would be tired".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estaría | I would be |
| Tú | estarías | you would be |
| Ella / Él / Usted | estaría | s/he would be, you (formal) would be |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estaríamos | we would be |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estaríais | you (plural) would be |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | estarían | they would be, you (plural formal) would be |
Estar in the Indicative Present Perfect
The Indicative Present Perfect of estar is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, "he estado cansado", meaning "I have been tired".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he estado | I have been |
| Tú | has estado | you have been |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha estado | s/he has been, you (formal) have been |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos estado | we have been |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis estado | you (plural) have been |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han estado | they have been, you (plural formal) have been |
Estar in the Indicative Past Perfect
The Indicative Past Perfect of estar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, "había estado cansado", meaning "I had been tired".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había estado | I had been |
| Tú | habías estado | you had been |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había estado | s/he had been, you (formal) had been |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos estado | we had been |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais estado | you (plural) had been |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían estado | they had been, you (plural formal) had been |
Estar in the Indicative Future Perfect
The Indicative Future Perfect of estar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, "habré estado cansado", meaning "I will have been tired".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré estado | I will have been |
| Tú | habrás estado | you will have been |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá estado | s/he will have been, you (formal) will have been |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos estado | we will have been |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis estado | you (plural) will have been |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán estado | they will have been, you (plural formal) will have been |
Estar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of estar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the future but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría estado cansado", meaning "I would have been tired".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría estado | I would have been |
| Tú | habrías estado | you would have been |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría estado | s/he would have been, you (formal) would have been |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos estado | we would have been |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais estado | you (plural) would have been |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían estado | they would have been, you (plural formal) would have been |
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Subjunctive Tenses of Estar
Estar in the Subjunctive Present
The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, "esté", meaning "I am".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | esté | I am |
| Tú | estés | you are |
| Ella / Él / Usted | esté | s/he is, you (formal) are |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estemos | we are |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estéis | you (plural) are |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | estén | they are, you (plural formal) are |
Estar in the Subjunctive Imperfect
The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, "estuviera", meaning "I was".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estuviera | I was |
| Tú | estuvieras | you were |
| Ella / Él / Usted | estuviera | s/he were, you (formal) were |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estuviéramos | we were |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estuvierais | you (plural) were |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | estuvieran | they were, you (plural formal) were |
Estar in the Subjunctive Future
The Subjunctive Future is used For example, "estuviere", meaning "I will be".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estuviere | I will be |
| Tú | estuvieres | you will be |
| Ella / Él / Usted | estuviere | s/he will be, you (formal) will be |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estuviéremos | we will be |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estuviereis | you (plural) will be |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | estuvieren | they will be, you (plural formal) will be |
Estar in the Subjunctive Present Perfect
The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, "haya estado", meaning "I have been".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya estado | I have been |
| Tú | hayas estado | you have been |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya estado | s/he has been, you (formal) have been |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos estado | we have been |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis estado | you (plural) have been |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan estado | they have been, you (plural formal) have been |
Estar in the Subjunctive Past Perfect
The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, "hubiera estado", meaning "I had been".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera estado | I had been |
| Tú | hubieras estado | you had been |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera estado | s/he had been, you (formal) had been |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos estado | we had been |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais estado | you (plural) had been |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran estado | they had been, you (plural formal) had been |
Estar in the Subjunctive Future Perfect
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used For example, "hubiere estado", meaning "I will have been".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere estado | I will have been |
| Tú | hubieres estado | you will have been |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere estado | s/he will have been, you (formal) will have been |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos estado | we will have been |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis estado | you (plural) will have been |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren estado | they will have been, you (plural formal) will have been |
Imperative Tenses of Estar
Estar in the Imperative Affirmative
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, "esté", meaning "(to you formal) be!".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | está | (to you) be! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | esté | (to you formal) be! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estemos | (to we) be! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estad | (to you plural) be! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | estén | (to you plural formal) be! |
Estar in the Imperative Negative
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, "no esté", meaning "(to you formal) don't be!".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no estés | (to you) don't be! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no esté | (to you formal) don't be! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no estemos | (to we) don't be! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no estéis | (to you plural) don't be! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no estén | (to you plural formal) don't be! |
Example sentences and usage
- Vamos, juega conmigo, ¡estoy tan aburrido! Come on, play with me, I'm so bored!
- Cuando me desperté estaba triste. When I woke up, I was sad.
- ¡Para ya! ¡La estás haciendo sentir incómoda! Stop it! You're making her feel uncomfortable!
- Creo que los exámenes están arruinando la educación. I think exams are ruining education.
- Ser objetivo significa no decirle a todos del lado de quién estás. Being objective means not telling everybody whose side you are on.
- Estoy vivo aunque no esté dando ninguna señal de vida. I am alive even though I am not giving any sign of life.
- ¡Recordad que estamos todos en el mismo barco! Remember that we are all in the same boat.
- No estoy de acuerdo con él. I don't agree with him.
Want to explore other verb conjugations?
Why not check out ir – to go or see the complete list of verbs here.
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Ella Verbs guides you through 30 levels of bite sized lessons and verb drills, helping you to master the 16 main Spanish tenses from our verb library of over 1,000 verbs.
