Estar Conjugation | How to Conjugate Estar in Spanish

Estar means “to be.” You will learn its irregular present, estuve preterite family, esté subjunctive family, regular imperfect and future forms, location/state uses, commands, and progressive-auxiliary function.

Estar conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Irregular. Estar has several distinct families: present estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están — forms of “to be”; preterite estuve... — “was / were”; present subjunctive esté... — “that ... be”; and regular-looking imperfect estaba..., future estaré..., and conditional estaría... families.

Estar gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The infinitive names the verb, the gerund is its non-finite -ing form, and the past participle combines with haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — in compound forms. The participle estado remains invariant in those compounds.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	estar	to be
Gerund	estando	being
Past participle	estado	been

Estar meaning and essential uses

Estar — “to be” — is a high-function verb used for a subject’s state or condition and for location: Estoy cansado. — “I am tired.” Estamos en Madrid. — “We are in Madrid.”

It also serves as the auxiliary in the common estar + gerund progressive construction for another lexical verb: Estoy trabajando. — “I am working.” This lesson explains that function as a use of estar itself without turning it into a lesson on the other verb.

Estar irregular conjugation patterns

The present is irregular: estoy — “I am,” with written accents in estás, está, estáis, están. The preterite uses estuv-: estuve — “I was,” estuvieron — “they were.”

The present subjunctive uses esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén. The imperfect and future subjunctive inherit estuvier-, while the simple future and conditional use the full infinitive estar-. The gerund estando — “being” — and participle estado — “been” — are regular non-finite forms.

Estar indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Estar present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. This is an irregular family: estoy and the accented forms estás, está, estáis, están must be learned directly.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estoy	I am
Tú — you, singular informal	estás	you are
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	está	he / she is; you are (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estamos	we are
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estáis	you are (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	están	they are; you are (plural)

• Estoy en casa ahora. — I am at home now.

Estar preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events or states. Estar uses the irregular estuv- preterite stem: estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estuve	I was
Tú — you, singular informal	estuviste	you were
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	estuvo	he / she was; you were (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estuvimos	we were
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estuvisteis	you were (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	estuvieron	they were; you were (plural)

• Ayer estuve en la oficina hasta tarde. — Yesterday I was at the office until late.

Estar imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. The verb uses the regular imperfect pattern shown below.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estaba	I used to be / was being
Tú — you, singular informal	estabas	you used to be / were being
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	estaba	he / she used to be / was being; you used to be / were being (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estábamos	we used to be / were being
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estabais	you used to be / were being (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	estaban	they used to be / were being; you used to be / were being (plural)

• Cuando era niño, estaba mucho en casa de mis abuelos. — When I was a child, I was often at my grandparents’ home.

Estar present progressive

Not normally used as a self-progressive paradigm. Although estando — “being” — is the valid gerund of estar, ordinary Spanish does not normally build a learner paradigm by using estar as its own progressive auxiliary. Use estar itself for the state or location, and use estar + gerund when estar is auxiliary to another lexical verb.

• Estamos preparando la cena. — We are preparing dinner.

Estar near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis uses present ir + a + infinitive. Form it with present ir — “to go” — plus a — “to” — and estar.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	voy a estar	I am going to be
Tú — you, singular informal	vas a estar	you are going to be
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	va a estar	he / she is going to be; you are going to be (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	vamos a estar	we are going to be
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	vais a estar	you are going to be (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	van a estar	they are going to be; you are going to be (plural)

• Voy a estar en Madrid mañana. — I am going to be in Madrid tomorrow.

Estar future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The endings attach to the full infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estaré	I will be
Tú — you, singular informal	estarás	you will be
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	estará	he / she will be; you will be (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estaremos	we will be
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estaréis	you will be (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	estarán	they will be; you will be (plural)

• Estaré disponible por la tarde. — I will be available in the afternoon.

Estar conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical or softened meanings. The endings attach to the full infinitive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estaría	I would be
Tú — you, singular informal	estarías	you would be
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	estaría	he / she would be; you would be (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estaríamos	we would be
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estaríais	you would be (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	estarían	they would be; you would be (plural)

• Estaría más tranquilo con una respuesta clara. — I would be calmer with a clear answer.

Estar present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed situations connected to a present reference frame; distribution varies regionally. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle estado — “been.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	he estado	I have been
Tú — you, singular informal	has estado	you have been
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	ha estado	he / she has been; you have been (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hemos estado	we have been
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habéis estado	you have been (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	han estado	they have been; you have been (plural)

• He estado muy ocupado esta semana. — I have been very busy this week.

Estar past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for something completed before another past reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle estado — “been.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	había estado	I had been
Tú — you, singular informal	habías estado	you had been
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	había estado	he / she had been; you had been (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habíamos estado	we had been
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habíais estado	you had been (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habían estado	they had been; you had been (plural)

• Ya habíamos estado allí antes. — We had already been there before.

Estar future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for something expected to be completed before a future reference point. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle estado — “been.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habré estado	I will have been
Tú — you, singular informal	habrás estado	you will have been
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habrá estado	he / she will have been; you will have been (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habremos estado	we will have been
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habréis estado	you will have been (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrán estado	they will have been; you will have been (plural)

• Para entonces habrán estado aquí tres días. — By then they will have been here for three days.

Estar conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle estado — “been.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	habría estado	I would have been
Tú — you, singular informal	habrías estado	you would have been
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	habría estado	he / she would have been; you would have been (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	habríamos estado	we would have been
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	habríais estado	you would have been (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	habrían estado	they would have been; you would have been (plural)

• Habría estado más cómodo en otra habitación. — I would have been more comfortable in another room.

Estar subjunctive conjugations

Estar present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The irregular family is esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	esté	that I be
Tú — you, singular informal	estés	that you be
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	esté	that he / she be; that you be (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estemos	that we be
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estéis	that you be (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	estén	that they be; that you be (plural)

• Espero que estés bien. — I hope you are well.

Estar imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is shown after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle estado — “been.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estuviera	that I were
Tú — you, singular informal	estuvieras	that you were
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	estuviera	that he / she were; that you were (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estuviéramos	that we were
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estuvierais	that you were (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	estuvieran	that they were; that you were (plural)

• Querían que estuviéramos allí a las ocho. — They wanted us to be there at eight.
• Preferían que estuvieses cerca de la entrada. — They preferred that you be near the entrance.

Estar future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare forms use the same estuvier- family as the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	estuviere	if / when I should be
Tú — you, singular informal	estuvieres	if / when you should be
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	estuviere	if / when he / she should be; if / when you should be (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	estuviéremos	if / when we should be
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estuviereis	if / when you should be (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	estuvieren	if / when they should be; if / when you should be (plural)

• Quien estuviere presente deberá firmar. — Whoever should be present must sign.

Estar present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed situation appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle estado — “been.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	haya estado	that I have been
Tú — you, singular informal	hayas estado	that you have been
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	haya estado	that he / she has been; that you have been (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hayamos estado	that we have been
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hayáis estado	that you have been (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hayan estado	that they have been; that you have been (plural)

• Me alegra que hayas estado aquí. — I am glad that you have been here.

Estar past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle estado — “been.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiera estado	that I had been
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieras estado	that you had been
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiera estado	that he / she had been; that you had been (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéramos estado	that we had been
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubierais estado	that you had been (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieran estado	that they had been; that you had been (plural)

• Si hubiéramos estado más cerca, habríamos llegado antes. — If we had been closer, we would have arrived earlier.
• Si hubieses estado disponible, te habría llamado. — If you had been available, I would have called you.

Estar future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form. Form it with the appropriate form of haber — “to have” as an auxiliary — plus the invariant participle estado — “been.”

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	hubiere estado	if / when I should have been
Tú — you, singular informal	hubieres estado	if / when you should have been
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	hubiere estado	if / when he / she should have been; if / when you should have been (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	hubiéremos estado	if / when we should have been
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	hubiereis estado	if / when you should have been (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	hubieren estado	if / when they should have been; if / when you should have been (plural)

• Si hubieren estado presentes, constará en el acta. — If they should have been present, it will be recorded in the minutes.

Estar imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Estar affirmative commands

Use the verified affirmative command forms for direct instructions when the meaning supports an instruction naturally.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	está	be / stay
Usted — you, singular formal	esté	be / stay (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	estemos	let’s be / stay
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	estad	be / stay (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	estén	be / stay (plural)

• Está tranquilo. — Stay calm.

Estar negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no — “not / do not” — before the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no estés	do not be / stay
Usted — you, singular formal	no esté	do not be / stay (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no estemos	let’s not be / stay
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no estéis	do not be / stay (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no estén	do not be / stay (plural)

• No estés tan lejos. — Do not be so far away.

Common constructions with Estar

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• estar + location. — to be located somewhere.
• estar + adjective or participle. — to be in a state or condition.
• estar + gerund of another verb. — to form a progressive construction.

Example sentences with Estar

These examples reinforce the target verb across useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• Estoy cansado hoy. — I am tired today.
• ¿Dónde están las llaves? — Where are the keys?
• Estuvimos en Sevilla dos días. — We were in Seville for two days.
• Espero que estés disponible mañana. — I hope you are available tomorrow.
• No estés preocupado. — Do not be worried.

Regional and usage notes for Estar

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes for project comparability. Voseo changes some common second-person singular forms in regions where vos — “you, singular informal” — is used.

• Vos estás en casa. — You are at home. (voseo)

Estar is best learned by tense family rather than one invented stem rule. Keep estoy, the accented present forms, estuv- in the preterite-related families, and esté in the present subjunctive clearly separated.