Estar Conjugation in Spanish Makes More Sense With This Guide

The verb estar (to be) is one of the most common Spanish verbs you’ll…

The verb estar (to be) is one of the most common Spanish verbs you’ll encounter and knowing how to use it will allow you to communicate about emotions, actions, and relative locations.  

In this guide, you’ll learn how to conjugate estar in several Spanish verb tenses, discovering when estar conjugation follows the rules of regular -AR verbs and when it’s irregular. Beyond estar conjugation charts, you’ll also see how it’s used in context through helpful examples that’ll have you using estar in no time.

The verb estar in Spanish

Estar is a high frequency verb used in many situations in Spanish. It’s also one of the more important irregular verbs in Spanish, so learning the ways estar is conjugated is a must and will give you a strong foundation for improvement in your Spanish going forward. 

Common uses of estar

There are two verbs in Spanish that mean “to be”: ser and estar. These verbs are used in different circumstances and are not interchangeable. While the acronym DOCTOR is used to remember how to use the verb ser, learners often find the acronym PLACE to be helpful for knowing when to use estar.

P—position: where an object is located relative to space or other objects.

• El banco está a la derecha. = The bank is on the right. 
  

L—location: where something is located.

• ¿Dónde está el baño? = Where is the restroom? 
  

A—action: actions that are occurring in the moment, used as an auxiliary verb to form the present progressive.

• Los niños están mirando televisión. = The children are watching television. 
  

C—condition: describing a changeable condition (not an essential quality), such as “open” vs. “closed.”

• La farmacia está cerrada. = The pharmacy is closed. 
  

E—emotion: describing temporary feelings or states (not characteristics). 

• Estoy contento porque hace sol. = I’m happy because it’s sunny out. 
  

This list is helpful when learning the differences between  ser vs. estar.

Why learn estar conjugation?

In Spanish, verbs change forms in the different tenses according to the subject. In English, you do this conjugation naturally, switching between “am,” “are,” and “is” to match the subject without thinking about it. You’ll be using the verb estar so often that getting comfortable with its conjugated forms will be invaluable to you. 

As you learn Spanish, conjugation charts and Spanish grammar rules can be helpful tools to help you notice the forms until they come naturally when speaking and writing. 

Some examples of different forms of estar are:

• Yo estoy feliz. = I am happy. 
• Él está feliz. = He is happy. 
• Tú estás feliz. = You are happy. 

It’s important to know which forms match which subject pronouns in Spanish, since the pronouns are so often omitted. These examples mean the exact same thing without the subject pronouns, in situations where the subject is already known. 

• Estoy feliz. = I am happy. 
• Está feliz. = He is happy. 
• Estás feliz. = You are happy. 

Knowing these forms also helps you to have good manners in Spanish, as you can change between usted vs. tú forms of estar depending on the formality of the situation.

Estar in the present tense

Using estar conjugation in the present indicative tense is common to talk about states in the present time frame. Unlike regular -AR verbs in Spanish, estar does not follow the typical pattern. There are a few changes, including accent marks, in its six forms. 

• Estoy en el trabajo. = I am at work. 
  

• ¿Estás libre el sábado? = Are you free on Saturday? 
  

• Él está en su casa. = He is at home. 
  

• Nosotros estamos perdidos. = We are lost. 
  

• ¿Vosotros estáis contentos? = Are you all happy? 
• Ellos están en la playa. = They are at the beach. 
  

Estar helps form the present progressive

A particularly helpful use of estar is as an auxiliary (or “helping”) verb in the present progressive tense. This tense is used to talk about actions that are currently in progress. In English, it is also formed by combining the conjugated form of the verb “to be” with verbs ending in “-ing” to talk about what is happening. 

The structure of the present progressive has two parts. First, the present tense estar conjugation, and second, a gerund of the main action verb. Most of these gerunds replace the -AR ending with “-ando” and the -ER or -IR ending with “-iendo,” though some have spelling changes.

Most -AR verbs will be similar to hablar (to speak) in the present progressive. 

• Yo estoy esquiando. = I am skiing. 
  

• ¿Qué estáis estudiando hoy? = What are you all studying today?  
• Nosotros estamos desayunando fuera.= We are eating breakfast outside. 

Most -ER verbs and -IR verbs will follow the pattern of comer (to eat) in the present progressive. 

• Estoy recogiendo la cocina. = I am picking up the kitchen. 
• ¿Qué estás haciendo? = What are you doing? 
  

• La niña tiene un libro y lo está leyendo. = The girl has a book and she is reading it. 
  

Estar in the past tenses

To talk about the past, you will need the correct form of estar in one of the Spanish past tenses. 

Preterite tense conjugation of estar

One of the past tenses, the preterite tense in Spanish narrates an event or situation in the past that has been completed. This way of using estar is useful only when referring to an event as a finished whole.

The conjugation of estar in the preterite is as follows:

• Eso es imposible. Estuve en casa estudiando toda la noche. = That’s impossible. I was at home studying all night. 
• Él estuvo enfermo durante tres días. = He was ill for three days. 
• Estuvimos contentos con las notas. = We were happy with the grades. 

Imperfect tense forms of estar

The imperfect tense in Spanish is used when describing ongoing or interrupted actions or states in the past. It can describe background information like emotions or locations. 

As you’ll notice in the table, the estar imperfect conjugation follows patterns for regular verbs in Spanish. 

• Yo estaba en Egipto. = I was in Egypt.
  

• Me han dicho que estabas aquí. ¿Qué ha pasado? = They told me you were here. What happened? 
• Cuando estábamos en la playa, estaba nublado. = When we were at the beach, it was cloudy. 
  

• Ella estaba nerviosa todas las mañanas cuando entraba en la clase. = She used to be nervous every morning when she entered the classroom. 

Present perfect tense conjugation of estar

The present perfect of estar means that someone or something “has been.” To conjugate estar in the present perfect, use the helping verb haber (have/has as an auxiliary verb) conjugated in the present plus the past participle estado (been).

• No, nunca he estado en el norte de Italia. ¿Usted sí? = No, I’ve never been to the north of Italy. Have you? 
  

• ¿Has estado alguna vez en China? = Have you ever been to China? 
  

• Ellos están celebrando porque han estado casados por cuarenta años. = They are celebrating because they’ve been married for forty years.
  

Estar in the future tense

To talk about states and conditions that will occur in the future, you’ll use the future tense conjugation of estar, which follows a regular pattern. It is formed using the entire infinitive as the stem and adding the future endings as shown in the table. 

• Estaré allí en cinco minutos. = I will be there in five minutes. 
  

• ¿Estarás en casa para la cena? = Will you be home for dinner? 
  

• Ellas estarán en España la semana que viene. = They will be in Spain next week. 

An alternative for near future states of being would be the structure ir + a + infinitive. Conjugate the verb ir (to go) in the present tense and add the infinitive estar. 

• Yo voy a comer chocolate. = I‘m going to eat chocolate.
  

• ¿Vas a leer este libro? = Are you going to read this book? 
  

• Ella va a comprar ropa. = She is going to buy clothing. 
  

• Mañana vamos a estudiar ciencia. = Tomorrow we are going to study science. 
  

Estar in the conditional

The verb estar follows regular patterns in the conditional mood in Spanish. The infinitive serves as the stem of this form, plus the imperfect endings of -ER and -IR verbs added on the end. These conjugated forms of estar mean “would be” in English. 

• Yo estaría muy ocupado si tuviera dos trabajos. = I would be very busy if I had two jobs. 
• Estaríamos encantados de conocerlo. = We would be delighted to meet him. 
• Ellos estarían nerviosos por hablar en público. = They would be nervous to speak in public.

When not to use estar 

As discussed, there are two verbs in Spanish that both mean “to be,” a feature that is common in Romance languages. It is important to recognize situations where the correct verb to use is ser instead of estar.  

The verb ser is used instead of estar to express time, date, definitions, general unchangeable characteristics, occupations, relationships, and places of origin. 

Learners can benefit from tips and guidance on the difference between ser vs. estar conjugation and uses. 

Key takeaways for using estar

Estar is a very common verb to communicate in Spanish, making it a valuable verb to master. 

• In general, use estar to express relative position, location, temporary condition, and emotion. 
• Estar is the auxiliary or helping verb in the present progressive tense to talk about actions that are in progress.
• Unlike completely regular verbs, estar follows its own pattern in some tenses. 
• There are other ways to say “to be” in Spanish, including ser.
• Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method can provide meaningful and authentic contexts so learners can master estar more quickly. 

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