Estar in the Present: Feelings, Condition, and Location
Estar in the present: feelings, condition, and location
The verb estar means “to be” and is one of the most important verbs in Spanish. In this lesson, you will use estar in three basic A1 situations: talking about feelings, describing a current condition, and saying where a person or thing is located.
You already know ser for identity, origin, occupation, and basic descriptions. Do not try to compare every use of ser and estar yet. A dedicated comparison lesson comes later.
Present-tense forms of estar
| Subject | Estar | Example |
|---|---|---|
| — I | — am | — I am fine. |
| — you | — are | — You are tired. |
| — he | — is | — He is here. |
| — she | — is | — She is happy. |
| — you | — are | — You are in the hotel. |
| / — we | — are | — We are fine. |
| / — you | — are | — You are here. |
| / — they | — are | — They are at home. |
| — you | — are | — You are here. |
The forms are , , , , , and . — am / are / is. Notice the written accents in , , , and .
Using estar to talk about how someone feels
Estar is commonly used with words that describe a person’s current feeling or state.
- — I am fine.
- — I am not well.
- — I am tired.
- — I am tired.
- — I am happy.
- — I am happy.
When the adjective has masculine and feminine forms, it agrees with the person being described.
Asking how someone is with estar
You already know the common question — How are you? Now you can see that is the form of estar.
Person A: — How are you?
Person B: — I am fine.
Person A: — How are you?
Person B: — I am tired.
With , use :
— How are you?
Using estar for a current condition
Estar is also useful for describing the current condition of a person or thing.
- — The door is open.
- — The door is closed.
- — The hotel is open.
- — The hotel is closed.
The adjective agrees with the noun: puerta is feminine, so use abierta or cerrada. Hotel is masculine, so use abierto or cerrado.
Describing more than one thing
The verb and adjective both change when the subject is plural.
- — The doors are open.
- — The doors are closed.
- — The hotels are open.
- — The hotels are closed.
agrees with a plural subject, and the adjective also matches gender and number.
Using estar to say where a person is
Use estar to say where a person is located.
- — I am here.
- — You are there.
- — She is at home.
- — He is in the hotel.
- — We are in Madrid.
For location, estar answers the basic question “Where is someone?”
Using estar to say where a thing is
Things also use estar when you identify their location.
- — The book is here.
- — The table is there.
- — The bathroom is in the hotel.
- — The exit is here.
This builds directly on the location questions you already know.
Asking where someone or something is
Use ¿Dónde …? — Where is…? with a singular person or thing.
- — Where is Ana?
- — Where is the bathroom?
- — Where is the exit?
Use ¿Dónde …? — Where are…? with plural people or things.
- — Where are Ana and Luis?
- — Where are the books?
Keeping estar forms matched to the subject
The subject determines the form of estar.
- — I am here.
- — You are here.
- — She is here.
- — We are here.
- — They are here.
As with other Spanish verbs, the subject pronoun can often be omitted when the verb form or context makes the subject clear.
- — I am here.
- — We are here.
- — They / You are here.
Combining feeling and location
You can use two short sentences to give both kinds of information.
— I am tired. I am at home.
— She is happy. She is in the hotel.
The first sentence gives a feeling. The second gives a location.
Combining condition and location
The same verb can appear in two different functions within one short description.
— The hotel is open. It is in the center.
— The door is closed. It is here.
In each pair, one sentence describes condition and the other describes location.
Avoiding a full ser and estar comparison for now
You already use ser for identity, origin, occupation, and some descriptions, and you now use estar for feelings, current condition, and location in the situations covered here.
- — I am a student.
- — I am tired.
- — I am from Mexico.
- — I am in Mexico.
These examples help you keep the current functions separate, but the broader ser and estar system will be taught in a later lesson.
A short everyday exchange
Person A: — Hello. How are you?
Person B: — I am fine, thank you.
Person A: — Where are you?
Person B: — I am at home.
This exchange uses estar first for a feeling and then for location.
From estar to listening for descriptions
You can now use the present tense of estar to talk about feelings, current condition, and location, and you can match the verb to singular and plural subjects. The next lesson is a listening lesson in which you will match short Spanish descriptions to the correct people.