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How to conjugate Estar in Spanish

To be (temporary) Irregular Verb Top 100

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.

ItemSpanishEnglish
Infinitiveestarto be (temporary)
Past participleestadobeen
Gerundestandobeing
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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".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy I am
estás you are
Ella / Él / Ustedestá s/he is , you (formal) are
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamoswe are
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáisyou (plural) are
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán they are , you (plural formal) are

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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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".

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestuve I was
estuviste you were
Ella / Él / Ustedestuvo s/he was, you (formal) was
Nosotras / Nosotrosestuvimos we were
Vosotras / Vosotrosestuvisteis you (plural) were
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestuvieron they were, you (plural formal) were

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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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".

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoestabaI used to be
estabasyou used to be
Ella / Él / Ustedestabas/he used to be, you (formal) used to be
Nosotras / Nosotrosestábamoswe used to be
Vosotras / Vosotrosestabaisyou (plural) used to be
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestabanthey used to be, you (plural formal) used to be

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Estar in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of estar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, "estoy estando cansado", meaning "I am being tired".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy estandoI am being
estás estandoyou are being
Ella / Él / Ustedestá estandos/he is being, you (formal) are being
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos estandowe are being
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis estandoyou (plural) are being
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán estandothey are being, you (plural formal) are being

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Estar in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of estar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, "voy a estar cansado", meaning "I am going to be tired".

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a estarI am going to be
vas a estaryou are going to be
Ella / Él / Ustedva a estars/he is going to be, you (formal) are going to be
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a estarwe are going to be
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a estaryou (plural) are going to be
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a estarthey are going to be, you (plural formal) are going to be

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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".

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoestaréI will be
estarásyou will be
Ella / Él / Ustedestarás/he will be, you (formal) will be
Nosotras / Nosotrosestaremoswe will be
Vosotras / Vosotrosestaréisyou (plural) will be
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestaránthey will be, you (plural formal) will be

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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".

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YoestaríaI would be
estaríasyou would be
Ella / Él / Ustedestarías/he would be, you (formal) would be
Nosotras / Nosotrosestaríamoswe would be
Vosotras / Vosotrosestaríaisyou (plural) would be
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestaríanthey would be, you (plural formal) would be

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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".

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe estadoI have been
has estadoyou have been
Ella / Él / Ustedha estados/he has been, you (formal) have been
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos estadowe have been
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis estadoyou (plural) have been
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan estadothey have been, you (plural formal) have been

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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".

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía estadoI had been
habías estadoyou had been
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía estados/he had been, you (formal) had been
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos estadowe had been
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais estadoyou (plural) had been
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían estadothey had been, you (plural formal) had been

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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".

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré estadoI will have been
habrás estadoyou will have been
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá estados/he will have been, you (formal) will have been
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos estadowe will have been
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis estadoyou (plural) will have been
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán estadothey will have been, you (plural formal) will have been

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Estar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of estar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, "habría estado cansado", meaning "I would have been tired".

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría estadoI would have been
habrías estadoyou would have been
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría estados/he would have been, you (formal) would have been
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos estadowe would have been
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais estadoyou (plural) would have been
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían estadothey 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 ".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoesté I am
estés you are
Ella / Él / Ustedesté s/he is , you (formal) are
Nosotras / Nosotrosestemoswe are
Vosotras / Vosotrosestéisyou (plural) are
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestén they are , you (plural formal) are

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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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 were".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestuviera I were
estuvieras you were
Ella / Él / Ustedestuviera s/he were, you (formal) were
Nosotras / Nosotrosestuviéramos we were
Vosotras / Vosotrosestuvierais you (plural) were
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestuvieran they were, you (plural formal) were

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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Estar in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, "estuviere", meaning "I will be".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestuviere I will be
estuvieres you will be
Ella / Él / Ustedestuviere s/he will be, you (formal) will be
Nosotras / Nosotrosestuviéremos we will be
Vosotras / Vosotrosestuviereis you (plural) will be
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestuvieren they will be, you (plural formal) will be

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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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".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya estadoI have been
hayas estadoyou have been
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya estados/he has been, you (formal) have been
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos estadowe have been
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis estadoyou (plural) have been
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan estadothey have been, you (plural formal) have been

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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".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera estadoI had been
hubieras estadoyou had been
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera estados/he had been, you (formal) had been
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos estadowe had been
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais estadoyou (plural) had been
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran estadothey had been, you (plural formal) had been

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Estar in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, "hubiere estado", meaning "I will have been".

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere estadoI will have been
hubieres estadoyou will have been
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere estados/he will have been, you (formal) will have been
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos estadowe will have been
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis estadoyou (plural) will have been
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren estadothey will have been, you (plural formal) will have been

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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!".

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
está (to you) be!
Ella / Él / Ustedesté (to you formal) be!
Nosotras / Nosotrosestemoslet's be!
Vosotras / Vosotrosestad(to you plural) be!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestén (to you plural formal) be!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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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!".

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
no estés (to you) don't be!
Ella / Él / Ustedno esté (to you formal) don't be!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno estemoslet's not be!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno estéis(to you plural) don't be!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno estén (to you plural formal) don't be!

The red dot () above denotes an irregular conjugation.

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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.

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Downloadable cheat sheets

Download and print a cheat sheet of Estar Spanish conjugation tables in image or PDF format:

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