español · A2 · verb · 4 minutes
Estar in the preterite
Enclose past locations and conditions inside completed time windows.
Understand the choice
The preterite of estar encloses a state or location inside a finished time window. Use it for being somewhere for two days, being busy during a completed event, or remaining in a condition until something changed.
Core rule: The preterite stem estuv- describes a bounded location or state.
Notice it in context
Estuve en Sevilla dos días y estuvimos muy ocupados.
I was in Seville for two days and we were very busy.
The preterite stem estuv- describes a bounded location or state.
¿Estuviste en casa anoche?
Were you at home last night?
Estuviste asks about a bounded past location.
Los niños estuvieron enfermos una semana.
The children were ill for a week.
Estuvieron closes the state within a duration.
What to remember
- Every form uses the strong stem estuv- and the strong-preterite endings.
- Estuvimos has no accent; none of the six strong-preterite forms takes one.
Common trap: Do not write estuvó or estuvé by analogy with regular preterites. The stress is built into the strong stem and the endings remain unaccented.