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The Verb Estar (to Be) in Spanish – Lesson 18
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(Lesson summary)
Learn estar, the second Spanish verb for "to be": estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están. Use it for states, like how you feel and where you are, and learn to choose between ser and estar.
- Estar in the present tense
- When to use estar: states
- Cansado or cansada? Changing the ending
- Ser vs estar: how to choose
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(The full lesson)
Estar: the other “to be”
In the previous lesson we learned ser, which we use for characteristics. Today we learn the second Spanish verb for “to be”: estar. We use estar for states.
What’s the difference? A characteristic is something that describes who or what someone is. A state is something temporary: how you feel, where you are, or what you’re doing right now.
Yo soy un hombre. I am a man. (characteristic → ser)
Yo estoy cansado. I am tired. (state → estar)
I’m not going to be tired forever, so being tired is a state. That’s why it’s estoy cansado, never soy cansado. It might take a moment to wrap your head around, but don’t worry: with the examples below, it’ll click.
Estar conjugation: present tense
| Pronoun | Estar | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | estoy | I am |
| tú | estás | you are |
| él / ella / usted | está | he / she is, you (formal) are |
| nosotros / nosotras | estamos | we are |
| vosotros / vosotras | estáis | you all are (Spain) |
| ustedes | están | you all are |
| ellos / ellas | están | they are |
Pay attention to the accents: estás, está, estáis, están. They’re really important. For example, esta without an accent means “this”!
Yo estoy: I am
Location is always a state: I’m here now, but I won’t be here forever. So:
Yo estoy aquí. I am here.
Tú estás: you are
¿Tú estás cansado? Are you tired? (to a man)
¿Tú estás cansada? Are you tired? (to a woman)
See how cansado changes to cansada when you talk to a woman? Always keep that in the back of your mind.
Funny story: when I first moved to Spain, I forgot to change encantado (nice to meet you) into encantada. So for weeks, every time I met a woman I said encantado, which is what you say as a man… When I realized, I was pretty embarrassed. But hey, that’s all part of the learning journey!
Él / ella / usted está: he / she is, you (formal) are
Él está en el parque. He is at the park.
Ella está en el parque. She is at the park.
Usted está en el parque. You (formal) are at the park.
Small difference with English: Spanish says en el parque, literally “in the park”, where English often says “at the park”.
Nosotros / nosotras estamos: we are
Nosotros estamos cansados. We are tired.
Nosotras estamos cansadas. We (all women) are tired.
More than one person, so cansado gets an -s: cansados. And for a group of only women: cansadas. But notice: the verb doesn’t change. It’s always estamos.
Vosotros / vosotras estáis: you all are (Spain)
¿Vosotros estáis listos? Are you all ready?
¿Vosotras estáis listas? Are you all (all women) ready?
Listo means ready. You can even use it on its own: ¿Listos? = Ready?
Ustedes están: you all are
Ustedes están trabajando. You all are working.
The j in trabajando isn’t an English j: it sounds like a strong, throaty h. “tra-ba-HAN-do”. And working right now is a state, so it’s estar.
Ellos / ellas están: they are
Ellos están practicando yoga. They are practicing yoga.
Ellas están practicando yoga. They (all women) are practicing yoga.
Why doesn’t practicando change to practicanda? When two verbs are next to each other, only the first one changes with the person: están. The -ando word stays the same, no matter who’s doing it.
A pattern: estar and the -ar verbs
Unlike ser, estar isn’t that irregular. The beginning, est-, never changes. Only the endings do:
| Pronoun | Stem | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| yo | est | -oy |
| tú | est | -ás |
| él / ella / usted | est | -á |
| nosotros / nosotras | est | -amos |
| vosotros / vosotras | est | -áis |
| ustedes / ellos / ellas | est | -án |
Remember from the introduction to verbs that Spanish verbs end in -ar, -er or -ir? Estar is an -ar verb, and these endings (-as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an) are the ones most -ar verbs use. We’ll dive into this in a separate lesson, but it’s a nice thing to start noticing!
Ser or estar? How to choose
From now on, every time you want to say “I am”, “you are” or “he is”, stop for a second and ask yourself: is it a characteristic or a state?
| Ser: characteristics | Estar: states | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you are / how you feel | Soy un hombre. | Estoy cansado. |
| Where you’re from / where you are | Soy de Europa. | Estoy aquí. |
| What you’re like / what you’re doing | Es inteligente. | Está trabajando. |
(Wes’s tip)
In most sentences it’s quite obvious which one to use. Sometimes something could be both a characteristic and a state, and then honestly, both can work. Don’t stress about it: you’ll get a feel for it with every lesson.
Recap: estar (to be)
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| yo estoy | I am |
| tú estás | you are |
| él / ella / usted está | he / she is, you (formal) are |
| nosotros / nosotras estamos | we are |
+ 3 more verb forms
Get all 7 verb forms on one printable page, with examples and my tips. Free, straight to your inbox.
Get the free PDF ↓Practice: ser or estar?
Fill in the right form of ser or estar. Say it out loud, then click to check.
1. Yo ___ cansado. (I’m tired.)
Yo estoy cansado. A state.
2. ¿Tú ___ lista? (Are you ready? to a woman)
¿Tú estás lista? A state.
3. Ella ___ en el parque. (She is at the park.)
Ella está en el parque. Location = estar.
4. Yo ___ de Holanda. (I’m from the Netherlands.)
Yo soy de Holanda. Where you’re from = ser.
5. Nosotras ___ cansadas. (We are tired.)
Nosotras estamos cansadas.
6. Ellos ___ simpáticos. (They are friendly.)
Ellos son simpáticos. A characteristic = ser.
7. ¿Vosotros ___ aquí? (Are you all here? Spain)
¿Vosotros estáis aquí?
8. Ustedes ___ trabajando. (You all are working.)
Ustedes están trabajando.
Quiz: estar (and ser vs estar)
10 questions. Can you choose between ser and estar?
Frequently asked questions
Is location always estar?
For where someone or something is, yes: estoy en casa, está en el parque. But where you’re from is a characteristic, so that’s ser: soy de España.
What if something could be both a characteristic and a state?
Then sometimes both are possible, with a slightly different meaning. You’ll discover these little differences as you go. For now, use the simple rule: characteristic = ser, state = estar.
Before you go to the next lesson
These two lessons were intense, with lots of conjugations! Take your time to practice ser and estar before you move on. Grab the free reference sheet below. The next lesson is a lighter blue vocabulary lesson. ¡Adiós!
(Free reference sheet)
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