When to use "estar"
I'm trying to figure out what "estar" means and when to use it when I'm describing something.
7 Answers
Estar means "To be" in a positional sense, examples: ¿Has estado en Nueva York alguna vez? have you ever been to New York? Estoy en casa. I am at home. Madrid está en españa. Madrid is in spain. but you wouldn't use estar to say that Madrid is the capital city of Spain, you would use the verb "Ser" which also means to be but in a more factual way i.e.Madrid es la capital cuidad de españa. Getting back to estar examples: El año pasado estuve en londres. Last year I was in London. Mañana estaré en casa todo el día. tomorrow I will be at home all day. Hope this helps it is a subject that needs much study I suggest that you start with the free lessons on this site.
This is how I remember it, ser is used for permanent things, while estar is for things that are temporary or change frequently.
Estoy bien | I'm fine - attitude can frequently change
¿Estás en tu casa? | Are you in your house? - your current location (unless your a hermit) changes frequently
Soy profesora de español | I'm a spanish teacher - occupations don't frequently change
There are exceptions however, such as time.
Son las dos en punto | It's 2:00 - although time is always changing we still use ser
La sábana está verde - the bed sheet is (has turned) green (something made it green, but it was white (stained?))
La sábana es verde - the bed sheet is green. (has always been green and will continue to be so)
Would that help?
Both ser and estar mean "to be" Ser is used for intrinsic things like nationality, occupation,characteristics, time and date an where or when something happens, Estar is used for conditions such as location, health, physical or emotional status and some weather expressions.
Examples are:
Soy de Norteamérica. I am from North America.
Soy un ingeniero. I am an engineer.
Estoy bien, gracias. I am well, thank you.
How you feel and where you are, that is when you use 'estar'.
Estar in Spanish means "To be". It is used to show location such as "Estoy en mi clase" (I am in my class), to show mood such as "Está mal" (He/She is not well.), to show position "El libre está en el pupitre" (The book is on the desk) or it can be used to show some tenses like the present continuous tense such as "Estamos aprendiendo el español" (We are learning Spanish) Etc. Estar and Ser both mean "to be" but they are easily confused, so be careful!
