Estar Conjugation in Spanish
estar means “be” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 2 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for location and position, for temporary states, moods and health, and for the progressive with the gerund. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of estar — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Yo estoy en casa todos los días.” — “I am at home every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: estar
- English: to be
- Verb type: Irregular
- Irregular in: present, preterite, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative
- Gerund: estando
- Past participle: estado
- Auxiliary: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + the past participle)
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for estar. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | estoy |
| tú | estás |
| él/ella/Ud. | está |
| nosotros/as | estamos |
| vosotros/as | estáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | están |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | estuve |
| tú | estuviste |
| él/ella/Ud. | estuvo |
| nosotros/as | estuvimos |
| vosotros/as | estuvisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estuvieron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | estaba |
| tú | estabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | estaba |
| nosotros/as | estábamos |
| vosotros/as | estabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | estaré |
| tú | estarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | estará |
| nosotros/as | estaremos |
| vosotros/as | estaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | estaría |
| tú | estarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | estaría |
| nosotros/as | estaríamos |
| vosotros/as | estaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he estado |
| tú | has estado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha estado |
| nosotros/as | hemos estado |
| vosotros/as | habéis estado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han estado |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había estado |
| tú | habías estado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había estado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos estado |
| vosotros/as | habíais estado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían estado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré estado |
| tú | habrás estado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá estado |
| nosotros/as | habremos estado |
| vosotros/as | habréis estado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán estado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría estado |
| tú | habrías estado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría estado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos estado |
| vosotros/as | habríais estado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían estado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | esté |
| tú | estés |
| él/ella/Ud. | esté |
| nosotros/as | estemos |
| vosotros/as | estéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estén |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | estuviera |
| tú | estuvieras |
| él/ella/Ud. | estuviera |
| nosotros/as | estuviéramos |
| vosotros/as | estuvierais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estuvieran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | está |
| él/ella/Ud. | esté |
| nosotros/as | estemos |
| vosotros/as | estad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estén |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | estés |
| él/ella/Ud. | esté |
| nosotros/as | estemos |
| vosotros/as | estéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | estén |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | estando |
| Past participle | estado |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With estar this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Yo estoy en casa todos los días.” — “I am at home every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. With estar this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Tú estuviste cansado después del trabajo ayer.” — “You were tired after work yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él estaba en Madrid antes.” — “He used to be in Madrid before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. For example: “Yo estaré en casa mañana.” — “I will be at home tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Tú estarías cansado después del trabajo algún día.” — “You would be tired after work someday.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience, formed with haber + the past participle. For example: “Él ha estado en Madrid esta semana.” — “He has been in Madrid this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había estado en casa antes de la fiesta.” — “I had been at home before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tú habrás estado cansado después del trabajo para mañana.” — “You will have been tired after work by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría estado en Madrid ayer.” — “He would have been in Madrid yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With estar this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Es importante que yo esté en casa.” — “It is important that i be at home.”
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, and clauses after a past-tense trigger. With estar this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ojalá tú estuvieras cansado después del trabajo.” — “I wish you were tired after work.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With estar this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “¡Está en Madrid!” — “Be in Madrid!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With estar this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “No estés en casa.” — “Do not be at home.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with estar, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo estoy en casa todos los días.” — “I am at home every day.”
- “Tú estuviste cansado después del trabajo ayer.” — “You were tired after work yesterday.”
- “Él estaba en Madrid antes.” — “He used to be in Madrid before.”
- “Yo estaré cansado después del trabajo mañana.” — “I will be tired after work tomorrow.”
- “Tú estarías en casa algún día.” — “You would be at home someday.”
- “Él ha estado en Madrid esta semana.” — “He has been in Madrid this week.”
- “Yo había estado en casa antes de la fiesta.” — “I had been at home before the party.”
- “Tú habrás estado cansado después del trabajo para mañana.” — “You will have been tired after work by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él esté en Madrid.” — “It is important that he be in Madrid.”
- “¡Está en casa!” — “Be at home!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo estar en casa.”
✓ Right: “Yo estoy en casa.”
The infinitive estar never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form estoy.
2. Confusing estar with ser
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy en casa.”
✓ Right: “Yo estoy en casa.”
Estar is for location and temporary states; ser is for identity and permanent traits.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy estado en casa.”
✓ Right: “Yo he estado en casa.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle estado.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “estare”
✓ Right: “estaré”
The accent on estaré is part of the spelling in the future. Without it the form looks like a different word, so always write the accent.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Ojalá tú estás en casa.”
✓ Right: “Ojalá tú estés en casa.”
After ojalá Spanish needs the subjunctive, so use estés here, not the indicative estás.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo estuve en casa antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo estaba en casa antes.”
The preterite estuve describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect estaba.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on estar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of estar in the Present indicative?
- A) estás
- B) está
- C) estamos
- D) estoy
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of estar in the Preterite?
- A) estuviste
- B) estuvimos
- C) estuvo
- D) estuve
What is the nosotros/as form of estar in the Imperfect?
- A) estabais
- B) estábamos
- C) estaba
- D) estabas
What is the tú form of estar in the Future?
- A) estarás
- B) estaré
- C) estará
- D) estaremos
What is the yo form of estar in the Conditional?
- A) estarías
- B) estaríamos
- C) estaríais
- D) estaría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of estar in the Present subjunctive?
- A) estemos
- B) estéis
- C) esté
- D) estés
What is the yo form of estar in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) estuvierais
- B) estuviera
- C) estuvieras
- D) estuviéramos
What is the gerund of estar?
- A) estando
- B) siendo
- C) habiendo
- D) teniendo
What is the past participle of estar?
- A) sido
- B) habido
- C) tenido
- D) estado
What does estar mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
Answer key
- D) estoy — the yo form of estar in the present indicative is estoy. The other options (estás, está, estamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) estuvo — the él/ella/Ud. form of estar in the preterite is estuvo. The other options (estuve, estuviste, estuvimos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) estábamos — the nosotros/as form of estar in the imperfect is estábamos. The other options (estaba, estabas, estaba) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) estarás — the tú form of estar in the future is estarás. The other options (estaré, estará, estaremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) estaría — the yo form of estar in the conditional is estaría. The other options (estarías, estaría, estaríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) esté — the él/ella/Ud. form of estar in the present subjunctive is esté. The other options (esté, estés, estemos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) estuviera — the yo form of estar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is estuviera. The other options (estuvieras, estuviera, estuviéramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) estando — the gerund of estar is estando; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) estado — the past participle of estar is estado; perfect tenses use haber + estado. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- A) to be — estar means “to be” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does estar mean in English?
estar means “to be”. You use it for location and position, for temporary states, moods and health, and for the progressive with the gerund. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is estar regular or irregular?
estar is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, present-subjunctive, imperfect-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative. The gerund is estando and the past participle is estado.
What are the gerund and past participle of estar?
The gerund is estando — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is estado — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he estado (I have been).
What is the difference between estar and ser?
Estar is for location and temporary states; ser is for identity and permanent traits. If you are unsure, check the full table for ser and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I am” in Spanish?
Say “Yo estoy en casa.” — “I am at home every day.” The yo form of the present is estoy, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- estar in the preterite tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- estar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Spanish irregular verbs — every common irregular Spanish verb, grouped by pattern.
- Ser conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Haber conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Tener conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular verbs.
- Preterite tense guide — how the preterite works, and when to choose it over the imperfect.
- Verb Conjugator — practise estar with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise estar with the interactive tool.
- Ser Vs Estar Quiz — practise estar with the interactive tool.