Estar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

estar — to be — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a irregular -ar verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the verb of location, temporary states and feelings: you use it to say where someone is and how someone is feeling right now. It is different from ser, which is for identity and permanent qualities — estou em casa is a location, sou professor is an identity. Estar also builds the progressive with the gerund, the Portuguese way of saying what someone is doing right now. On this page you will find estar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the estar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the estar pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with estar

In the present tense

  • “Eu estou em casa todos os dias.” — “I am at home”
  • “Tu estás em casa todos os dias.” — “You are at home”
  • “Ele está em casa todos os dias.” — “He is at home”
  • “Nós estamos em casa todos os dias.” — “We are at home”
  • “Vós estais em casa todos os dias.” — “You are at home”
  • “Eles estão em casa todos os dias.” — “They are at home”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu estive em casa ontem.” — “I was at home”
  • “Tu estiveste em casa ontem.” — “You were at home”
  • “Ele esteve em casa ontem.” — “He was at home”
  • “Nós estivemos em casa ontem.” — “We were at home”
  • “Vós estivestes em casa ontem.” — “You were at home”
  • “Eles estiveram em casa ontem.” — “They were at home”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu estava em casa antigamente.” — “I used to be at home”
  • “Tu estarás em casa amanhã.” — “You will be at home”
  • “Ele estaria em casa um dia.” — “He would be at home”
  • “É importante que nós estejamos em casa.” — “It is important that we be at home”
  • “Está em casa!” — “Be at home!”

How estar is used

The first thing to know about estar is its core meaning: to be. It is the verb of location, temporary states and feelings: you use it to say where someone is and how someone is feeling right now. It is different from ser, which is for identity and permanent qualities — estou em casa is a location, sou professor is an identity. Estar also builds the progressive with the gerund, the Portuguese way of saying what someone is doing right now. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company estar keeps. The present eu form is estou, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho estado, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what estar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need estou, never estar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho estado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle estado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Estar in context

Eu estou em casa todos os dias. Tu estás em casa todos os dias. Ele está em casa todos os dias. Nós estamos em casa todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of estar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — estou, estás, está, estamos — while the meaning stays the same: to be. Eu estive em casa ontem. Tu estiveste em casa ontem. Ele esteve em casa ontem. Nós estivemos em casa ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of estar appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to be — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu estar em casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu estou em casa todos os dias.”

The infinitive estar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form estou.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu estás em casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu estou em casa todos os dias.”

estás is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is estou — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu estou em casa ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu estive em casa ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito estive here, not the present estou.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou estado em casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho estado em casa esta semana.”

estar takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho estado — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on estar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of estar in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) estou
    • B) estás
    • C) está
    • D) estamos

  2. What is the eu form of estar in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens estado
    • B) tem estado
    • C) tenho estado
    • D) temos estado

  3. What is the ele/ela form of estar in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) estavas
    • B) estávamos
    • C) estáveis
    • D) estava

  4. What is the nós form of estar in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) estaremos
    • B) estarei
    • C) estarás
    • D) estará

  5. What is the tu form of estar in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) estaria
    • B) estarias
    • C) estaríamos
    • D) estaríeis

  6. What is the eu form of estar in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) estiveras
    • B) estivéramos
    • C) estivera
    • D) estivéreis

  7. What is the nós form of estar in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) esteja
    • B) estejas
    • C) estejais
    • D) estejamos

  8. What is the gerund of estar?

    • A) estando
    • B) estado
    • C) estar
    • D) estou

  9. What is the past participle of estar?

    • A) estando
    • B) estado
    • C) estar
    • D) estou

  10. What does estar mean in English?

  • A) to have
  • B) —
  • C) to be
  • D) —

Answer key

  1. B) estás — the correct form is estás. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho estado — the correct form is tenho estado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) estava — the correct form is estava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) estaremos — the correct form is estaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) estarias — the correct form is estarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) estivera — the correct form is estivera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) estejamos — the correct form is estejamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) estando — the correct form is estando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) estado — the correct form is estado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to be — the correct form is to be. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does estar mean in English?

estar means “to be”. You use it whenever you talk about to be in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is estar regular or irregular?

estar is irregular. estar is irregular in presente, pretérito perfeito, pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples, presente do subjuntivo, pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo, futuro do subjuntivo, imperativo afirmativo, imperativo negativo — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of estar?

The gerund is estando and the past participle is estado. The perfect tenses use ter + estado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of estar?

On the estar conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The estar pretérito perfeito tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for estar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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