So far, in the first five lessons, you have learned that Spanish has more than one way of expressing the idea of “to be”, principally, the verbs ser and estar. What makes the difference is the ways or circumstances in which each verb is used; for certain things it is correct to use ser, for others, estar. These differences can sometimes be confusing for speakers of a language with only one form of “to be,” but with practice and time, you will begin to recognize when to use ser, and when to use estar. Each of the verbs has several different uses, some of which, in the case of ser, you already know. The uses of ser include the identification of people or things, the description of physical or psychological traits, indicating place of origin or nationality, and telling time. In this lesson, you will begin to learn about the verb estar, and some of its uses.
One of the primary uses of estar is to express location. So, if you are talking about where a person or a thing, such as a building, is located, you will use estar.
Below, you will see how to conjugate the verb estar, along with several examples of how it is used.
| estar – to be (tiempo presente) |
|
singular |
plural |
| 1a |
yo estoy |
nosotros estamos |
| 2a |
tú estás |
vosotros estáis |
| 3a |
él/ella/usted está |
ellos/ellas/ustedes están |
|
¿Dónde está tu amigo Ricardo?
