What does estar mean in English?

Estar means "to be" in English.

How do you conjugate estar in Spanish?

Estar is conjugated across all Spanish tenses including present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and more. Each tense has specific conjugations for yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, and ellos/ustedes. You can see complete conjugation tables with audio pronunciations on this page.

What are common idiomatic expressions with estar?

Common idiomatic expressions using estar include: "estar en las nubes" (to have one's head in the clouds (lit: to be in the clouds)), "estar como una cabra" (to be crazy (lit: to be like a goat)), "estar hasta las narices" (to be fed up (lit: to be up to the noses)). These expressions are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversation.

What should I know about using estar?

Estar is one of two verbs meaning "to be" in Spanish (the other is ser)

What verbs are related to estar?

Verbs related to estar include: ser. These verbs share similar meanings, stems, or conjugation patterns.

How do you use estar in a sentence?

Example: "Estoy cansado hoy." which means "I am tired today." in English.

What are synonyms for estar?

Spanish synonyms for estar include: ser, encontrarse, hallarse. The exact synonym to use depends on the context and specific meaning intended.

Estar

to be

🎯

Infinitive (infinitivo)

Base form of the verb

estar

🏃

Gerund (gerundio)

Present participle (-ing form)

estando

📋

Past Participle

Used in compound tenses

estado

Simple Tenses

⚡

Present Indicative (presente de indicativo)

Present actions and habitual activities

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	estoy I be	I be
tú	estás you be	you be
él/ella/usted	está he/she/you bes	he/she/you bes
nosotros	estamos we be	we be
vosotros	estáis you all be	you all be
ellos/ustedes	están they/you all be	they/you all be

🕰️

Imperfect Indicative (imperfecto de indicativo)

Ongoing past actions and descriptions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	estaba I used to be	I used to be
tú	estabas you used to be	you used to be
él/ella/usted	estaba he/she/you used to be	he/she/you used to be
nosotros	estábamos we used to be	we used to be
vosotros	estabais you all used to be	you all used to be
ellos/ustedes	estaban they/you all used to be	they/you all used to be

📅

Preterit (pretérito)

Completed past actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	estuve I been	I been
tú	estuviste you been	you been
él/ella/usted	estuvo he/she/you been	he/she/you been
nosotros	estuvimos we been	we been
vosotros	estuvisteis you all been	you all been
ellos/ustedes	estuvieron they/you all been	they/you all been

🔮

Future (futuro)

Future actions and intentions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	estaré I will be	I will be
tú	estarás you will be	you will be
él/ella/usted	estará he/she/you will be	he/she/you will be
nosotros	estaremos we will be	we will be
vosotros	estaréis you all will be	you all will be
ellos/ustedes	estarán they/you all will be	they/you all will be

🎯

Conditional (potencial simple)

Hypothetical and conditional actions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	estaría I would be	I would be
tú	estarías you would be	you would be
él/ella/usted	estaría he/she/you would be	he/she/you would be
nosotros	estaríamos we would be	we would be
vosotros	estaríais you all would be	you all would be
ellos/ustedes	estarían they/you all would be	they/you all would be

💭

Present Subjunctive (presente de subjuntivo)

Subjective present actions and desires

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	esté that I be	that I be
tú	estés that you be	that you be
él/ella/usted	esté that he/she/you be	that he/she/you be
nosotros	estemos that we be	that we be
vosotros	estéis that you all be	that you all be
ellos/ustedes	estén that they/you all be	that they/you all be

🌙

Imperfect Subjunctive (imperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective past actions and hypothetical situations

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	estuviera or estuviese that I been	that I been
tú	estuvieras or estuvieses that you been	that you been
él/ella/usted	estuviera or estuviese that he/she/you been	that he/she/you been
nosotros	estuviéramos or estuviésemos that we been	that we been
vosotros	estuvierais or estuvieseis that you all been	that you all been
ellos/ustedes	estuvieran or estuviesen that they/you all been	that they/you all been

Compound Tenses

✅

Present Perfect (perfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed recently or with present relevance

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	he estado I have been	I have been
tú	has estado you have been	you have been
él/ella/usted	ha estado he/she/you have been	he/she/you have been
nosotros	hemos estado we have been	we have been
vosotros	habéis estado you all have been	you all have been
ellos/ustedes	han estado they/you all have been	they/you all have been

⏪

Pluperfect Indicative (pluscuamperfecto de indicativo)

Actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	había estado I had been	I had been
tú	habías estado you had been	you had been
él/ella/usted	había estado he/she/you had been	he/she/you had been
nosotros	habíamos estado we had been	we had been
vosotros	habíais estado you all had been	you all had been
ellos/ustedes	habían estado they/you all had been	they/you all had been

📍

Preterit Perfect (pretérito anterior)

Actions completed immediately before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hube estado I had been	I had been
tú	hubiste estado you had been	you had been
él/ella/usted	hubo estado he/she/you had been	he/she/you had been
nosotros	hubimos estado we had been	we had been
vosotros	hubisteis estado you all had been	you all had been
ellos/ustedes	hubieron estado they/you all had been	they/you all had been

🎊

Future Perfect (futuro perfecto)

Actions that will be completed by a future time

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habré estado I will have been	I will have been
tú	habrás estado you will have been	you will have been
él/ella/usted	habrá estado he/she/you will have been	he/she/you will have been
nosotros	habremos estado we will have been	we will have been
vosotros	habréis estado you all will have been	you all will have been
ellos/ustedes	habrán estado they/you all will have been	they/you all will have been

🔄

Conditional Perfect (potencial compuesto)

Actions that would have been completed under certain conditions

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	habría estado I would have been	I would have been
tú	habrías estado you would have been	you would have been
él/ella/usted	habría estado he/she/you would have been	he/she/you would have been
nosotros	habríamos estado we would have been	we would have been
vosotros	habríais estado you all would have been	you all would have been
ellos/ustedes	habrían estado they/you all would have been	they/you all would have been

💫

Subjunctive Present Perfect (perfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed in relation to the present

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	haya estado that I have been	that I have been
tú	hayas estado that you have been	that you have been
él/ella/usted	haya estado that he/she/you have been	that he/she/you have been
nosotros	hayamos estado that we have been	that we have been
vosotros	hayáis estado that you all have been	that you all have been
ellos/ustedes	hayan estado that they/you all have been	that they/you all have been

🌌

Subjunctive Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Subjective actions completed before another past action

Person	Conjugation	English
yo	hubiera estado that I had been	that I had been
tú	hubieras estado that you had been	that you had been
él/ella/usted	hubiera estado that he/she/you had been	that he/she/you had been
nosotros	hubiéramos estado that we had been	that we had been
vosotros	hubierais estado that you all had been	that you all had been
ellos/ustedes	hubieran estado that they/you all had been	that they/you all had been

❗

Commands (imperativo)

Commands and direct orders

Person	Command	English
tú	está	be! (you)
usted	esté	be! (you formal)
nosotros	estemos	let's be!
vosotros	estad	be! (you all)
ustedes	estén	be! (you all)

🚫

Negative Commands (imperativo negativo)

Negative commands and prohibitions

Person	Command	English
tú	no estés	don't be! (you)
usted	no esté	don't be! (you formal)
nosotros	no estemos	let's not be!
vosotros	no estéis	don't be! (you all)
ustedes	no estén	don't be! (you all)

More About "estar"

Idiomatic Expressions

estar en las nubes

to have one's head in the clouds (lit: to be in the clouds)

💡 Not paying attention, daydreaming

estar como una cabra

to be crazy (lit: to be like a goat)

💡 Describing someone acting irrationally

estar hasta las narices

to be fed up (lit: to be up to the noses)

💡 Being extremely annoyed or tired of something

estar de moda

to be in fashion

💡 Something trendy or popular

estar de más

to be unwanted / to be in the way

💡 Feeling like you don't belong or aren't welcome

Examples in Context

Estoy cansado hoy.

I am tired today.

Present

La tienda está en el centro.

The store is in the center.

Present

Estaba estudiando cuando llamaste.

I was studying when you called.

Imperfect

He estado ocupado toda la semana.

I have been busy all week.

Present Perfect

Related Verbs

ser(to be (permanent characteristics/identity))

complementary verb for "to be"

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

ser(to be)

Used for permanent states, identity, and characteristics (see usage notes)

encontrarse(to be (located), to feel)

More formal alternative for location and emotional states

hallarse(to be (found/located))

Formal, literary alternative for location

Usage Notes

•Estar is one of two verbs meaning "to be" in Spanish (the other is ser)
•Use ESTAR for: temporary conditions, emotions, location, progressive tenses (-ando/-iendo)
•ESTAR is used for states or conditions that are subject to change
•Irregular in present (estoy, estás, está), preterite (estuve), and present subjunctive
•Essential for forming all progressive tenses: estar + gerund (estoy hablando = I am speaking)
•Use with adjectives describing temporary conditions, moods, and states
•Common in expressions of location: "¿Dónde estás?" (Where are you?)
•Adjectives can change meaning with ser vs. estar (e.g., "ser listo" = be smart vs. "estar listo" = be ready)

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Estar

Simple Tenses

Compound Tenses

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