Ser or estar?
Both mean "to be". Use estar for how or where something is right now: feelings, states and location (estoy cansado, está en casa). Use ser for what something is: identity, origin, profession and character (soy holandés). Quick test: if it answers "where?" or "how are you right now?", you need estar.
Indicative tenses of estar
Facts and things that happen: the tenses you'll use most.
Present indicative
| yo | estoyI am |
|---|---|
| tú | estásyou are |
| él/ella/usted | estáhe/she is |
| nosotros/as | estamoswe are |
| vosotros/as | estáisyou all are |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | estánthey are |
Watch the accents: estás, está, están. Without the accent, esta means "this".
Preterite indicative
| yo | estuveI was |
|---|---|
| tú | estuvisteyou were |
| él/ella/usted | estuvohe/she was |
| nosotros/as | estuvimoswe were |
| vosotros/as | estuvisteisyou all were |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | estuvieronthey were |
Imperfect indicative
| yo | estabaI used to be |
|---|---|
| tú | estabasyou used to be |
| él/ella/usted | estabahe/she used to be |
| nosotros/as | estábamoswe used to be |
| vosotros/as | estabaisyou all used to be |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | estabanthey used to be |
Present continuous indicative
| yo | estoy estandoI am being |
|---|---|
| tú | estás estandoyou are being |
| él/ella/usted | está estandohe/she is being |
| nosotros/as | estamos estandowe are being |
| vosotros/as | estáis estandoyou all are being |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | están estandothey are being |
estar + gerund
Rare: you'd normally just say estoy.
Informal future indicative
| yo | voy a estarI am going to be |
|---|---|
| tú | vas a estaryou are going to be |
| él/ella/usted | va a estarhe/she is going to be |
| nosotros/as | vamos a estarwe are going to be |
| vosotros/as | vais a estaryou all are going to be |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van a estarthey are going to be |
ir a + infinitive
Future indicative
| yo | estaréI will be |
|---|---|
| tú | estarásyou will be |
| él/ella/usted | estaráhe/she will be |
| nosotros/as | estaremoswe will be |
| vosotros/as | estaréisyou all will be |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | estaránthey will be |
Conditional indicative
| yo | estaríaI would be |
|---|---|
| tú | estaríasyou would be |
| él/ella/usted | estaríahe/she would be |
| nosotros/as | estaríamoswe would be |
| vosotros/as | estaríaisyou all would be |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | estaríanthey would be |
Present perfect indicative
| yo | he estadoI have been |
|---|---|
| tú | has estadoyou have been |
| él/ella/usted | ha estadohe/she has been |
| nosotros/as | hemos estadowe have been |
| vosotros/as | habéis estadoyou all have been |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | han estadothey have been |
haber (present) + past participle
Past perfect indicative
| yo | había estadoI had been |
|---|---|
| tú | habías estadoyou had been |
| él/ella/usted | había estadohe/she had been |
| nosotros/as | habíamos estadowe had been |
| vosotros/as | habíais estadoyou all had been |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían estadothey had been |
haber (imperfect) + past participle
Future perfect indicative
| yo | habré estadoI will have been |
|---|---|
| tú | habrás estadoyou will have been |
| él/ella/usted | habrá estadohe/she will have been |
| nosotros/as | habremos estadowe will have been |
| vosotros/as | habréis estadoyou all will have been |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán estadothey will have been |
haber (future) + past participle
Conditional perfect indicative
| yo | habría estadoI would have been |
|---|---|
| tú | habrías estadoyou would have been |
| él/ella/usted | habría estadohe/she would have been |
| nosotros/as | habríamos estadowe would have been |
| vosotros/as | habríais estadoyou all would have been |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrían estadothey would have been |
haber (conditional) + past participle
Subjunctive tenses of estar
Wishes, doubts, emotions and "if" sentences.
Present subjunctive
| yo | esté(that) I be |
|---|---|
| tú | estés(that) you be |
| él/ella/usted | esté(that) he/she be |
| nosotros/as | estemos(that) we be |
| vosotros/as | estéis(that) you all be |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | estén(that) they be |
Imperfect subjunctive
| yo | estuviera / estuviese(if) I were |
|---|---|
| tú | estuvieras / estuvieses(if) you were |
| él/ella/usted | estuviera / estuviese(if) he/she were |
| nosotros/as | estuviéramos / estuviésemos(if) we were |
| vosotros/as | estuvierais / estuvieseis(if) you all were |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | estuvieran / estuviesen(if) they were |
Future subjunctive
| yo | estuviere(if) I am |
|---|---|
| tú | estuvieres(if) you are |
| él/ella/usted | estuviere(if) he/she is |
| nosotros/as | estuviéremos(if) we are |
| vosotros/as | estuviereis(if) you all are |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | estuvieren(if) they are |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Present perfect subjunctive
| yo | haya estado(that) I have been |
|---|---|
| tú | hayas estado(that) you have been |
| él/ella/usted | haya estado(that) he/she has been |
| nosotros/as | hayamos estado(that) we have been |
| vosotros/as | hayáis estado(that) you all have been |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hayan estado(that) they have been |
haber (present subj.) + past participle
Past perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiera estado(if) I had been |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieras estado(if) you had been |
| él/ella/usted | hubiera estado(if) he/she had been |
| nosotros/as | hubiéramos estado(if) we had been |
| vosotros/as | hubierais estado(if) you all had been |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieran estado(if) they had been |
haber (imperfect subj.) + past participle
Future perfect subjunctive
| yo | hubiere estado(if) I will have been |
|---|---|
| tú | hubieres estado(if) you will have been |
| él/ella/usted | hubiere estado(if) he/she will have been |
| nosotros/as | hubiéremos estado(if) we will have been |
| vosotros/as | hubiereis estado(if) you all will have been |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hubieren estado(if) they will have been |
rarely used: legal & formal texts
Imperative tenses of estar
Commands and instructions.
Affirmative imperative
| tú | estábe! |
|---|---|
| usted | estébe! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | estemoslet's be! |
| vosotros/as | estadbe! (you all) |
| ustedes | esténbe! (you all, formal) |
Mostly used in fixed phrases: ¡estate quieto! (keep still!), ¡estad atentos!
Negative imperative
| tú | no estésdon't be! |
|---|---|
| usted | no estédon't be! (formal) |
| nosotros/as | no estemoslet's not be! |
| vosotros/as | no estéisdon't be! (you all) |
| ustedes | no esténdon't be! (you all, formal) |
Practice estar
Two quick exercises. No sign-up, no app: just you and estar.
How to use estar
Estoy muy contento hoy.
I'm very happy today.
El baño está al fondo.
The bathroom is at the back.
La sopa está fría.
The soup is cold.
Estamos aprendiendo español.
We're learning Spanish.
Estoy de acuerdo.
I agree.
Example sentences with estar
- ¿Cómo estás?How are you?
- ¿Dónde está la estación?Where is the station?
- Ayer estuve en casa todo el día.Yesterday I was at home all day.
- Cuando llamaste, estaba durmiendo.When you called, I was sleeping.
- Mañana estaré en Madrid.Tomorrow I'll be in Madrid.
- Estaría bien ir a la playa.It would be nice to go to the beach.
- Espero que estés bien.I hope you are well.
- Si estuviera en tu lugar, me quedaría.If I were in your place, I would stay.
Verbs like estar
Like estar (estoy), dar, ir and ser end in -oy in the yo form. Andar and tener share the -uve preterite.
Frequently asked questions about estar
Is estar regular or irregular?
Estar is irregular. The present (estoy, and the accents in estás, está), the preterite (estuve) and the subjunctive (esté, estuviera) are irregular. The imperfect (estaba), future (estaré) and conditional (estaría) are regular.
What is the difference between ser and estar?
Estar is for how or where something is right now: feelings, states, location (estoy cansado). Ser is for what something is: identity, origin, profession, character (soy alto). Está aburrido = he's bored. Es aburrido = he's boring.
How do you conjugate estar in the present tense?
estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están.
How do you conjugate estar in the preterite?
estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron.
Is it "estuve" or "estaba"?
Estuve (preterite) is for a finished period: estuve en Roma una semana. Estaba (imperfect) is for background and descriptions: estaba cansado cuando llegué.
What is the past participle of estar?
The past participle is estado (he estado, I have been) and the gerund is estando.
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All 18 tenses of estar, on one page.
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