Are you ready to learn about the “estar” conjugation in Spanish? 

The verb “estar” is one of the most important and frequently used verbs in the Spanish language. It is an irregular verb that is used to indicate a state of being, location, or temporary condition. Unlike the verb “ser,” which also means “to be” but is used for permanent or inherent qualities, “estar” is used for temporary states or conditions.

The verb “estar” is commonly used to express location, feelings, physical conditions, and temporary states. Additionally, “estar” is used to form the present progressive tense, indicating ongoing actions.

“Estar” Conjugation in Spanish Indicative / Indicativo

The indicative tense (el modo indicativo) is one of the three grammatical moods used to express different attitudes or purposes in speech. The indicative mood is used to make factual statements, ask questions, and express opinions about actions or events that are considered real or certain.

Present Tense Estar Conjugation / Presente

The present tense is used to describe actions happening in the present or to express general truths or habitual actions.

Yo	Estoy
Tú	Estás
Él/Ella/Usted	Está
Nosotros	Estamos
Vosotros	Estáis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Están

Examples:

1. Estoy leyendo un libro interesante. (I’m reading an interesting book.)
2. Estamos preparando la comida para la fiesta. (We are preparing the food for the party.)
3. Ellos están estudiando para el examen. (They are studying for the exam.)

Simple Past Estar Conjugation / Pasado 

The simple past tense (preterite) is used to describe completed actions in the past, often with specific time frames or events.

Yo	Estuve
Tú	Estuviste
Él/Ella/Usted	Estuvo
Nosotros	Estuvimos
Vosotros	Estuvisteis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Estuvieron

Examples:

1. Ayer estuviste en la fiesta de cumpleaños de Juan. (Yesterday you were at Juan’s birthday party.)
2. ¿Estuvisteis de acuerdo con la decisión que tomamos? (Did you agree with the decision we made?)

Imperfect Estar Conjugation / Imperfecto

Spanish imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions in the past, as well as to set the stage or provide background information

Yo	Estaba
Tú	Estabas
Él/Ella/Usted	Estaba
Nosotros	Estábamos
Vosotros	Estabais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Estaban

Examples:

1. Ella estaba esperando en la sala de espera del médico. (She was waiting in the doctor’s waiting room.)
2. Ustedes estaban disfrutando de sus vacaciones en la playa. (You were enjoying your vacation at the beach.)

Future Tense / Futuro

The Spanish future tense is used to express actions or events that will happen in the future, indicating something that has not yet occurred.

Yo	Estaré
Tú	Estarás
Él/Ella/Usted	Estará
Nosotros	Estaremos
Vosotros	Estaréis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Estarán

Examples:

1. Mañana estaré en casa para recibirte. (Tomorrow I will be home to receive you.)
2. ¿Estarás listo para el examen? (Will you be ready for the exam?)
3. Durante el fin de semana estaremos de viaje. (We will be traveling over the weekend.)

Conditional / Condicional

The conditional tense is used to express hypothetical or speculative actions or events that would happen under certain conditions in the present or future.

Yo	Estaría
Tú	Estarías
Él/Ella/Usted	Estaría
Nosotros	Estaríamos
Vosotros	Estaríais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Estarían

Examples:

1. Él estaría más contento si le dieras una oportunidad. (He would be happier if you gave him a chance.)
2. Mañana estarían de regreso de su viaje. (They would be back from their trip tomorrow.)

Present Perfect Estar Conjugation / Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto

Spanish present perfect tense (also known as “pretérito perfecto compuesto”) is used to express actions that have occurred in the past but have a connection to the present, emphasizing the result or consequences of those actions.

Yo	He estado
Tú	Has estado
Él/Ella/Usted	Ha estado
Nosotros	Hemos estado
Vosotros	Habéis estado
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Han estado

Examples:

1. He estado ocupado toda la semana. (I’ve been busy all week.)
2. Has estado muy callado últimamente. (You’ve been very quiet lately.)

Past Perfect / Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto

Spanish past perfect tense (also known as “pretérito pluscuamperfecto”) is used to describe actions that occurred before another past action or event, expressing a past-in-the-past relationship.

Yo	Había estado
Tú	Has estado
Él/Ella/Usted	Ha estado
Nosotros	Hemos estado
Vosotros	Habéis estado
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Han estado

Examples:

1. Habéis estado trabajando duro todo el día. (You have been working hard all day.)
2. Ellos han estado viajando por diferentes países. (They have been traveling through different countries.)

Future Perfect / Futuro Perfecto

The Spanish future perfect tense is used to express actions that will have been completed in the future, indicating an action that will be finished before another specified future time or event.

Yo	Habré estado
Tú	Habrás estado
Él/Ella/Usted	Habrá estado
Nosotros	Habremos estado
Vosotros	Habréis estado
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Habrán estado

Examples:

1. Habré estado ocupado toda la tarde. (I’ve been busy all afternoon.)
2. Habremos estado preparándonos para el examen durante semanas. (We will have been preparing for the exam for weeks.)

Conditional Perfect Estar Conjugation / Condicional Perfect

The conditional perfect tense is used to express hypothetical or speculative actions that would have been completed in the past, indicating an action that would have happened prior to another past event.

Yo	Habría estado
Tú	Habrías estado
Él/Ella/Usted	Habría estado
Nosotros	Habrían estado
Vosotros	Habríais estado
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Habrían estado

Examples:

1. Si hubieras estudiado más, habrías estado mejor preparado. (If you had studied more, you would have been better prepared.)
2. Usted habría estado en desacuerdo con esa decisión. (You would have disagreed with that decision.)

“Estar” Conjugation Subjunctive / Subjuntivo

The subjunctive tense (el modo subjuntivo) is one of the three grammatical moods used to express different attitudes or purposes in speech. The subjunctive mood is used to express doubt, uncertainty, subjectivity, emotion, and hypothetical situations.

Read more: 1000 MOST COMMON SPANISH WORDS – FREQUENCY VOCABULARY

Present Tense / Presente

The Spanish subjunctive present tense is used to express subjective actions, desires, doubts, recommendations, or possibilities, often introduced by certain triggers such as expressions of doubt, necessity, or influence.

Yo	Esté
Tú	Estés
Él/Ella/Usted	Esté
Nosotros	Estemos
Vosotros	Estéis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Estén

Examples:

1. Espero que esté presente en la reunión de hoy. (I hope you will be present at today’s meeting.)
2. Te recomiendo que estés atento a las instrucciones del profesor. (I recommend that you pay attention to the teacher’s instructions.)
3. Es importante que todos estemos unidos para enfrentar esta situación difícil. (It is important that we all stand together to face this difficult situation.)

Imperfect Estar Conjugation / Imperfecto

This tense is used to express hypothetical or unreal actions, desires, doubts, or recommendations in the past, often introduced by certain triggers such as expressions of doubt, uncertainty, or unreal conditions.

Yo	Estuviera
Tú	Estuvieras
Él/Ella/Usted	Estuviera
Nosotros	Estuviéramos
Vosotros	Estuvierais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Estuvieran

Examples:

1. Si no lloviera, estuviéramos en la playa disfrutando del sol. (If it didn’t rain, we would be on the beach enjoying the sun.)
2. Si estuvierais más atentos, no cometeríais tantos errores. (If you were more attentive, you would not make so many mistakes.)

Future Tense / Futuro

The Spanish subjunctive future tense is used to express hypothetical or uncertain actions, desires, doubts, or recommendations in the future.

Yo	Estuviere
Tú	Estuvieres
Él/Ella/Usted	Estuviere
Nosotros	Estuviéremos
Vosotros	Estuviereis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Estuvieren

Examples:

1. Espero que estuvieres presente en la reunión. (I hope you were present at the meeting.)
2. Si ella estuviere lista, podremos empezar. (If she is ready, we can start.)
3. Es importante que todos estuvieren atentos durante la conferencia. (It’s important that everyone is attentive during the conference.)

Present Perfect / Pretérito Perfecto

Spanish subjunctive present perfect tense is used to express hypothetical or unreal actions, desires, doubts, or recommendations in the present with a connection to the past, indicating actions that would have been completed prior to the present moment.

Yo	Haya estado
Tú	Hayas estado
Él/Ella/Usted	Haya estado
Nosotros	Hayamos estado
Vosotros	Hayáis estado
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Hayan estado

Examples:

1. Me alegra que yo haya estado presente en ese momento importante. (I’m glad that I was present at that important moment.)
2. Espero que usted haya estado disfrutando de sus vacaciones. (I hope you have been enjoying your vacation.)

Past Perfect / Pretérico Pluscuamperfecto

Spanish subjunctive past perfect tense is used to express hypothetical or unreal actions, desires, doubts, or recommendations in the past with a connection to a previous past event, indicating actions that would have been completed before that past event.

Yo	Hubiera estado
Tú	Hubieras estado
Él/Ella/Usted	Hubiera estado
Nosotros	Hubiéramos estado
Vosotros	Hubierais estado
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Hubieran estado

Examples:

1. Si ella hubiera estado presente, habría hecho una gran diferencia. (If she had been present, it would have made a big difference.)
2. Si hubiéramos estado más preparados, no habríamos cometido tantos errores. (If we had been better prepared, we wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.)

“Estar” Conjugation Imperative / Imperativo

The imperative tense (el modo imperativo) is one of the verb moods used to express commands, orders, or requests. It is used to tell someone what to do or what not to do.

Affirmative / Afirmativos

Spanish affirmative refers to the use of positive statements or expressions that indicate agreement, confirmation, or positive response to a question or statement.

Yo	–
Tú	Está
Él/Ella/Usted	Esté
Nosotros	Estemos
Vosotros	Estad
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	Estén

Examples:

1. Esté tranquilo y espere su turno. (Stay calm and wait for your turn.)
2. Estén atentos a las instrucciones del profesor. (Be attentive to the teacher’s instructions.)

Negative / Negativos

Spanish negative refers to the use of negative statements or expressions that indicate negation, denial, or disagreement with a question or statement.

Yo	–
Tú	No estés
Él/Ella/Usted	No esté
Nosotros	No estemos
Vosotros	No estéis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes	No estén

Examples:

1. No estemos tan seguros de eso. (Let’s not be so sure about that.)
2. No estéis preocupados, todo saldrá bien. (Don’t be worried, everything will be fine.)

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Understanding the basic forms and common uses of “estar” will provide a solid foundation for expressing various states and conditions in Spanish.

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