Estar can be confusing for many Spanish students because it is usually translated as “to be,” just like the verb ser. Although they can often be translated the same way, ser and estar are distinct verbs with distinct meanings and are seldom synonymous.
In Spanish we have two forms of the verb “to be”. We have already learned one of them in our previous lesson about the verb SER. Today, we are going to talk all about the other word for “to be” – ESTAR.
When we use the verb ESTAR and all of its different forms, we are saying:
ESTAR – TO BE
| Estoy– I am | Estamos– We are |
| Estás– You (informal) are | Estáis– You all are |
| Está– He/she is, You (formal) are | Están– They are, You all are |
**NOTE: Remember to include your accents for the tú, él/ella/usted, vosotros and ellos/ellas/ustedes forms of this verb. The word meaning will change without one!
We use ESTAR in these three scenarios:
- To talk about LOCATION of something (ex: I am in my house, My book is on the table). Note that the location of an event uses SER instead (La reunión es en la sala 3 = The meeting is in room 3).
- To talk about the CONDITION or FEELING of something (ex: The soup is hot, My friends are sad)
- To use the PRESENT PROGRESSIVE (“ing”) tense (ex: We are reading a book, You are running)