{"id":52968,"date":"2025-03-26T01:18:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T00:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/?p=52968"},"modified":"2025-03-26T01:18:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T00:18:26","slug":"spanish-verb-estar-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/blog\/spanish-verb-estar-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanish Verb Estar To Be: Spanish Lesson 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the ninth lesson in our beginner-level Spanish course and we will look at the Spanish verb Estar To Be<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Earlier in this course, we saw the Spanish verb Ser<\/a><\/strong> (Yo soy: I am. T\u00fa eres: You are. \u00c9l\/Ella es: He\/She is) which is also the verb To Be.<\/p>\n

In Spanish, there are two versions of the verb To be (Ser & Estar) when in English there is only one verb To be (I am, You are, He\/She is).<\/p>\n

Ser and Estar are fundamental to the Spanish language and from now on in the course, we will be using both Ser and Estar.<\/p>\n

If you’re eager to learn more Spanish, our Free Spanish Online Course<\/strong><\/a> is the perfect solution.<\/p>\n

Spanish verb Estar Conjugation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(Yo) Estoy: I am
\n(T\u00fa) Est\u00e1s: You are
\n(\u00c9l\/Ella) Est\u00e1: He\/She is
\n(Nosotros) Estamos: We are
\n(Vosotros) Est\u00e1is: You are
\n(Ellos\/Ellas) Est\u00e1n: They are<\/p>\n

Spanish verb Ser Conjugation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(Yo) Soy: I am
\n(T\u00fa) Eres: You are
\n(\u00c9l\/Ella) Es: He\/She is
\n(Nosotros) Somos: We are
\n(Vosotros) Sois: You are
\n(Ellos\/Ellas) Son: They are<\/p>\n

\"Spanish<\/p>\n

As you can see, both Ser and Estar appear to mean the same thing,\u00a0 the verb To Be.<\/p>\n

However, we use one or the other depending on the sentence.<\/p>\n

When to use “ser”<\/h2>\n

Generally speaking, Ser is used when describing permanent things.<\/p>\n

It is important to be clear on when to use Ser. Let\u2019s look in more detail what situation should be used in:<\/p>\n

Name
\nGender
\nNationality
\nOccupation
\nPhysical description
\nPersonality
\nTime and dates
\nEvents
\nRelationships
\nPossession<\/p>\n

Ser Example sentences:<\/h3>\n

Soy Pedro: I am Pedro
\nSoy hombre: I am a man
\nSoy de Espa\u00f1a: I am from Spain
\nSoy m\u00e9dico: I am a doctor
\nSoy alto y moreno: I am tall and dark
\nSoy honesto y trabajador: I am honest and hard working<\/p>\n

When to use “estar”<\/h2>\n

Estar is used when describing temporary things.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look in more detail when to use Estar:<\/p>\n

Location\/position
\nEmotions\/feelings\/moods
\nTemporary condition<\/p>\n

Estar example sentences:<\/h3>\n

Estoy en Londres: I am in London
\nEstoy contento pero cansado: I am happy but tired
\nEstoy de vacaciones: I am on holiday<\/p>\n

Two verbs To be!!! A challenge, but you can do it!<\/h3>\n

Having two verbs To Be to contend with is one of the trickier parts of learning Spanish for English speakers.<\/p>\n

When you just have one equivalent verb To Be in your own language and are only just starting out learning a new one, it is a challenge for sure to process two different verbs translating to the same thing.<\/p>\n

Most students, however, get the hang of Ser and Estar fairly quickly.<\/p>\n

Getting a feel for Ser applying mainly to \u2018permanent\u2019 descriptions and Estar applying mainly to \u2018non-permanent\u2019 descriptions helps distinguish the two verbs.<\/p>\n

Spanish Verb Estar To Be is not only for non-permanent descriptions<\/h3>\n

We must be careful, though, as Estar is not always only used with non-permanent descriptions.<\/p>\n

We use Estar rather than Ser when describing location, even when a location is permanent.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

Estoy en el restaurante: I am in the restaurant
\nMadrid est\u00e1 en el centro de Espa\u00f1a: Madrid is in the centre of Spain<\/p>\n

The first sentence follows the general rule of Estar being used when describing something that is temporary: \u2018I am in the restaurant\u2019, but I won\u2019t always be in the restaurant.<\/p>\n

The second sentence, however, describes Madrid being in the centre of Spain, which is a permanent location. Madrid is not going to move.<\/p>\n

Therefore, we must always be careful to remember that with any kind of locations we always use the verb Estar rather than the verb Ser.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see an example conversation (two friends talking by telephone) illustrating the different uses of Estar:<\/h3>\n

Ana: Hola Juan, \u00bfc\u00f3mo est\u00e1s?: Ana: Hi Juan, how are you?
\nJuan: Estoy bien Ana. \u00bfY t\u00fa? \u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1s, hace mucho ruido?: Juan: I\u2019m fine Ana. And you? Where are you, it\u2019s very noisy?
\nAna: Estoy en un pueblo que se llama Marchena. Hay un festival. Toda la gente est\u00e1 muy feliz, comiendo, bebiendo y bailando: Ana: I\u2019m in a town called Marchena. There is a festival. All the people are very happy, eating, drinking, and dancing.
\nJuan: \u00a1Suena genial Ana! \u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1 Marchena?: Juan: That sounds great Ana! Where is Marchena?
\nAna: Marchena est\u00e1 en Andaluc\u00eda. Cerca de Sevilla: Ana: Marchena is in Andalusia. Near Sevilla.
\nJuan: \u00bfHace calor?: Juan: Is it hot?
\nAna: S\u00ed, hace mucho calor hoy. Estoy cansada porque he estado al sol todo el d\u00eda: Ana: Yes, it\u2019s very hot today. I am tired because I have been out in the sun all day.
\nJuan: Intenta encontrar algo de sombra. Y una cerveza fr\u00eda: Juan: Try to find some shade. And a cold beer.<\/p>\n

\"Spanish<\/p>\n

Ana: \u00a1Buena idea Juan! \u00a1Estoy un poco enferma pero estar\u00e9 bien despu\u00e9s de una cerveza fr\u00eda!: Ana: Good idea Juan! I am a bit ill but I will be OK after a cold beer!
\nJuan: \u00bfEst\u00e1s sola en Marchena?: Juan: Are you in Marchena alone?
\nAna: No, no estoy sola. Estoy con mi amiga Irene. Ella es de Marchena. He venido a visitarla: Ana: No, I am not alone. I am with my friend Irene. She is from Marchena. I have come to visit her.
\nJuan: \u00bfC\u00f3mo conoces a Irene?: Juan: How do you know Irene?
\nAna: Ella es doctora, como yo. Trabaj\u00e1bamos juntas en Madrid: Ana: She is a doctor, like me. We used to work together in Madrid.
\nJuan: \u00a1Qu\u00e9 bien Ana! Que lo pas\u00e9is muy bien juntas: Juan: That\u2019s great Ana! Have a very nice time together.
\nAna: Gracias Juan. \u00a1Te veo cuando vuelva!: Ana: Thanks Juan. See you when I get back!<\/p>\n

That is all for this lesson about the Spanish verb Estar To Be<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Other Spanish verbs we have seen so far in this course are Ser<\/a><\/strong>, Querer<\/a><\/strong>, and Tener<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

There was lots of very useful information in this lesson which we recommend that you practice by creating your own similar sentences.<\/p>\n

In our next Spanish lesson, we will practice more with Estar using the verb to give and follow directions and to describe where places and things are located.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the ninth lesson in our beginner-level Spanish course and we will look at the Spanish verb Estar To Be. Earlier in this course, we saw the Spanish verb Ser (Yo soy: I am. T\u00fa eres: You are. \u00c9l\/Ella es: He\/She is) which is also the verb To Be. In Spanish, there are two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":52972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[1391,1516,1652],"class_list":["post-52968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spanish-lessons","tag-beginner-spanish-lessons","tag-learn-spanish","tag-spanish-language-learning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52968"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65811,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52968\/revisions\/65811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}