español · A1 · verb · 4 minutes
Estar in the present
Locate people and things and describe how they are now.
Understand the choice
Estar locates people and things and describes how someone or something is at the moment. The forms share est-, but every form except estamos takes a written accent on the stressed ending.
Core rule: Use estar for location and for conditions viewed as current or changeable: estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están.
Notice it in context
Estoy cansada, pero estamos bien.
I am tired, but we are fine.
Estoy describes the speaker's current state; estamos changes to the nosotros form.
¿Dónde estás ahora?
Where are you now?
Estás asks for the location of one familiar person.
Las llaves están en mi bolso.
The keys are in my bag.
Physical location uses están with a plural subject.
What to remember
- Use estar for location even when the location is permanent.
- State adjectives agree with the person or thing described: cansado, cansada, cansados, cansadas.
Common trap: Do not choose ser for a location: Madrid está en España, even though the city is not moving.