Estar Conjugation: Overview and Guide

Learning the ins and outs of estar conjugation is key to improving your Spanish. Imagine the Great Pyramid of Spanish language knowledge. At the top, you’ll find some of the more complex verb tenses, such as the slightly intimidating subjunctive form. At the foundation of the pyramid, the very start of the language learning process, you’ll find two very important verbs: ser and estar. These two words are the Spanish equivalents of the English verb ‘to be’ (found in sentences like “I’m excited about my upcoming vacation” and “Have you ever been to Spain?”).

In this article, we’ll shed some light on how to use estar correctly and break down how to conjugate estar in the most common Spanish verb tenses. By the end, we hope you’ll be able to level up on your journey up the Great Pyramid of Spanish. ¿Están preparados? (Are you ready?)

An overview of how to use and conjugate estar

Let’s first take a look at the responsibilities that estar doesn’t have. We never use estar to talk about permanent conditions or characteristics, such as someone’s appearance or personality – this is the job of the verb ser. (To learn more about the differences between these two verbs, check out our guide on ser vs estar.)

Instead, estar is used to talk about temporary situations, referring to actions happening around now, temporary conditions, feelings, emotions and locations. Consider the examples below:

• Actions: Estoy llegando ahora al aeropuerto. (I’m just getting to the airport now.)
• Conditions: Está atascado el ascensor. ¡Estamos atrapados aquí! (The elevator is stuck. We’re trapped here!)
• Feelings and emotions: Estoy emocionada porque hoy voy a conocer al nuevo cachorro de mi hermano. (I’m excited because today I’m going to meet my brother’s new puppy.)
• Locations: ¿Dónde está la parada de autobus? Mira, está allí, enfrente del edificio de Correos. (Where is the bus station? Look, it’s over there, opposite the post office building.)

In grammatical terms, estar is an irregular verb. This means it does not follow standard conjugation patterns. You might remember that Spanish has many different verb conjugations. The verb we use depends on three factors: the verb tense, the subject pronoun, and the mood (indicative, subjunctive or imperative).

Within each verb tense, the conjugation of estar changes according to who does what in a sentence. Spanish tells us this by using subject pronouns, including Yo (I), tú (you), él, ella and usted (he and she), nosotros (we), vosotros (you), and ellos, ellas and ustedes (they).

Note to reader: It’s important to keep in mind whether you’re communicating with speakers of Latin American Spanish or Spanish from Spain. To refer to people in the second person, it’s more common to use vosotros (essentially, you all) in Spain for informal situations, whereas in most Latin American countries, it’s more polite to use ustedes in both informal and formal contexts.

Conjugation of estar

Now let’s dig deeper into the foundation of the grammatical pyramid. Along the way, we’ll show you how to conjugate estar in all the different verb tenses. For each tense, you’ll get a brief reminder of how we use it and a nifty estar conjugation chart. ¡Vamonos! (Let’s go!)

Estar conjugation: Indicative tenses

Present – Presente

The present indicative tense is used to talk about present actions, feelings, conditions and situations.

Examples:

• Estoy preocupado por mi hermana. (I’m worried about my sister.)
• Están cerrados todos los supermercados en mi barrio los domingos. (All the supermarkets in my neighborhood are closed on Sundays.)

Future – Futuro simple

We use the future tense to talk about actions or situations we think will happen next week, next year, or even a thousand years from now. The future tense is used to communicate plans, intentions and predictions.

Examples:

• Estará disponible el nuevo iPhone la proxima semana. (The new iPhone will be available next week.)
• Estaremos de vacaciones durante el mes de agosto. (We’ll be on vacation the entire month of August.)

Preterite (or past) – Pretérito

We use the preterite verb tense to talk about completed past actions or situations. When using the preterite, we usually specify when something happened.

Examples:

• ¿Estuvieron en la oficina la semana pasada? ¿Qué paso con el jefe? (Were you at the office last week? What happened to the boss?)
• Estuve muy contenta porque mi mejor amiga Laura consiguió un trabajo. (I was really happy because my best friend Laura got a job.)

Imperfect – Pretérito imperfecto

The imperfect tense is used to describe habits or routines in the past and to describe actions in progress at a particular time in the past.

Examples:

• Durante muchos años, María Angeles estaba soltera. (For many years, María was single.)
• Estaba de paseo con mis amigos cuando ví a un gato. (I was taking a walk with my friends when I saw a cat.)

Pro tip: If your head is already spinning with all this talk of tenses, have no fear. While Spanish verb tenses might seem a bit overwhelming at first, with some practice and the help of Busuu’s Grammar Review feature, you’ll become an expert on the differences between the pretérito and the imperfecto in no time!

Conditional – Condicional simple

We use the conditional tense to talk about hypothetical or imaginary situations in the present or future.

Examples:

• Estaríamos encantandos de asisitr a tu fiesta, pero ya tenemos planes. (We would love to come to your party, but we already have plans.)
• Creo que estaría mejor llevar el pelo más corto. (I think it’d be better if you kept your hair short.)

Present perfect – Pretérito perfecto

We use the present perfect to describe an action or situation that started in the past but still has a connection to the present.

Examples:

• Rafael ha estado muy aburrido porque le quitaron el móvil sus padres. (Rafael has been very bored because his parents took away his phone.)
• He estado con muchos compromisos recientemente. No tengo tiempo para ir al gimnasio! (I’ve had a lot of obligations recently. I don’t have time to go to the gym!)

Future perfect – Futuro compuesto

The future perfect is tricky because it has two different uses, one of which is somewhat counterintuitive. First, this tense is used to talk about an action or situation that will happen before a certain point in the future. However, the future perfect is also used to make predictions or give explanations about something that happened recently in the past.

Examples:

• Dicen que entregaron el paquete. No habrás estado en casa cuandó llegó. (They said they delivered the package. You must not have been at home when it arrived.)
• El profesor no ha venido a la universidad hoy. Habrá estado enfermo otra vez. (The teacher hasn’t come to school today. He must have been sick again.)

Past Perfect – Pretérito pluscuamperfecto

We use the past perfect tense to talk about an action or situation that happened before another in the past.

Examples:

• Nosotros ya habíamos estado de camino cuando nuestro amigo canceló los planes. (We had already been on our way when our friend canceled the plans.)
• Había estado muy sabrosa la comida hasta que cambiaron de cocinera. (The food had been delicious up until they changed the chef.)

Conditional perfect – Condicional compuesto

We use the conditional perfect tense to talk about imaginary or hypothetical situations in the past.

Examples:

• Habría estado muy triste si te hubieras olvidado de mi cumpleaños! (I would have been really sad if you’d forgotten my birthday.)
• ¿Realmente habrías estado sorprendido si me hubiera mudado a Japón? Pero sabes que a mi me encanta la cultura japonesa! (Would you really have been surprised if I’d moved to Japan? But you know that I love Japanese culture!)

Estar subjunctive tenses conjugation

We use the subjunctive form to express hopes, desires, wishes, doubts and feelings that are related to the present or future. There’s no formal subjunctive tense in English – it’s represented using verbs like hope, want and wish. (For example, “I wish there were fewer verb tenses in Spanish.”)

Present subjunctive – Presente de subjuntivo

Here are some examples of how to use estar in the present subjunctive:

Examples:

• Mamá quiere que estémos vestidos y listos para salir en 15 minutos! (Mom wants us to be dressed and ready to go in 15 minutes!)
• Es importante que estés en la reunión esta tarde. (It’s important for you to be in the meeting this afternoon.)
• Es raro que haya tantas personas esperando en la cola para al cine. (It’s strange that there are so many people waiting in line for the movie theater.)

Imperfect subjunctive – Pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo

The imperfect form of the subjunctive is used to talk about past hopes, wishes, desires, doubts and feelings.

Examples:

• Ojalá que estuviéramos jubilados, así podríamos viajar juntos por todo el mundo. (I wish we were retired – that way we’d be able to travel the world together.)
• No creo que estuvieran muy interesados en comprar esa casa. (I don’t think they were very interested in buying that house.)

Present perfect subjunctive – Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo

As you might have already guessed, we use this form of the subjunctive to talk about hopes, wishes, doubts and so on that are related to the past, but which have a connection to the present.

Examples:

• Qué extraño haya estado Ramón últimamente. ¿Crees que le pasa algo? (Ramón has been acting strange lately! Do you think something is going on with him?)
• No me parece que haya estado lleno el tren esta mañana. (It doesn’t seem to me that the train was full this morning.)

Pluperfect Subjunctive – Pretérito pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo

As we finally reach the peak of the grammatical pyramid, we come to the extremely specific but ultimately useful pluperfect subjunctive, which is related to past feelings, hopes, wishes, doubts, and so on that happened before something else in the past.

Examples:

• Me molestó que no hubieran estado en mi concierto. ¿Por qué no vinieron? (It bothered me that you didn’t come to my concert. Why didn’t you come?)
• Ojalá que hubieran venido mis padres a la boda. (I wish my parents had come to the wedding.)

Imperative – Imperativo

Like the subjunctive, the imperative doesn’t exist as a separate verb tense in English. It serves several purposes in Spanish: to give instructions, orders and warnings, as well as to make requests and suggestions.

Examples:

• Por favor, estad atentos a la puerta. Llega el paquete de Amazon esta tarde. (Please keep an eye on the door. My Amazon package is coming this afternoon.)
• No estemos cerca de la puerta y que no hagamos ruido. En cuanto entre Gabriel, gritemos, “Feliz cumpleaños!” (Don’t be close to the door and don’t make noise. As soon as Gabriel comes in, let’s shout, “Happy birthday!”)

Wrapping up

In this article, we’ve explored the nuts and bolts of how the verb estar works, including its meaning and usage and how to conjugate estar in the most common Spanish verb tenses.

So what can you do to keep moving up that Spanish pyramid? The way forward is simple – practice, practice, practice! Here are some tips to help you achieve this goal:

• Keep a notebook with charts of common Spanish verbs and their conjugations. Update it and review it regularly.
• Make flashcards or even post-its with new words you’ve learned and spread them around your house so you can practice wherever you are. Organize them based on categories like food, family members, hobbies, work and so on.
• Make language learning a part of your daily routine. Set aside just ten minutes per day (enough time to complete a lesson or two on the Busuu app!) and after a few months or even weeks, you’ll notice just how much you’ve improved.