The document discusses the uses of the verb "estar" in Spanish. It explains that estar is used to indicate physical location and position, as well as temporary, changeable, or transitory states like moods, mental conditions, physical conditions, and personal reactions perceived through the senses. It provides examples for each of these uses and contrasts estar with ser for describing inherent qualities or where an event takes place.

1. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 1 of 6
The Uses of Estar
1. Estar is used to indicate the physical location and position of people and things. It
does not matter whether the location is temporary or permanent.
Gregorio está en Valencia.
(Gregorio is in Valencia.)
La mesilla de noche está a la izquierda de la cama.
(The night table is to the left of the bed.)
El perro está al lado del gato.
(The dog is next to the cat.)
El perro está al lado del gato.
But, notice that estar is not used to describe the where an event takes place. Use ser to
describe where an event takes place.
El concierto es en el parque.
(The concert takes place at the park.) (The concert is at the park.)
2. In general, estar describes temporary, changeable, short-term, or transitory states
and conditions.
Juan está de vacaciones.
(Juan is on vacation.)
3. Estar is used to express emotional conditions. It describes the mood that a person
is in at any given moment. Moods are usually transitory or changeable conditions.
Mi abuelo está contento.
(My grandfather is happy.)
Rocio es de mal humor.
(Rocio is in a bad mood.)
Mi abuelo está contento.
4. Estar is used to express temporary mental conditions.
Mi padre está confundido.
(My father is confused.)
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.
Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) and www.freedigitalphotos.net. Acknowledgements-page 6.

2. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 2 of 6
The Uses of Estar
5. Estar is used to express physical conditions at a given moment in time. Physical
conditions are seen as short-term because they can change from day to day.
Mi amiga está enferma.
(My friend is sick.)
Estamos cansados.
(We’re tired.)
Estamos cansados
Use estar with the adjectives alive and dead. Although they are not temporary physical
conditions, these words are adjectives of change. Adjectives of change use estar.
Juana está viva.
(Juana is alive.)
El padre de Alejandro está muerto.
(Alejandro’s father is dead.)
.
6. Estar not only expresses the physical condition of people, but also the physical
condition of things at a given moment in time. These are conditions and are not the
inherent properties of what is being described.
El horno está descompuesto.
(The oven is not working.)
La cocina está sucia.
(The kitchen is dirty.)
La habitación está vacía.
(The room is empty.)
La cocina está sucia.
7. Estar is used to describe personal reactions that are perceived through the senses.
It expresses how someone looks, feels, or seems.
Roberto está muy guapo hoy.
(Roberto looks very handsome today.)
¡Qué guapa estás hoy!
(How pretty you look today!)
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.
Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) and www.freedigitalphotos.net. Acknowledgements-page 6.

3. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 3 of 6
The Uses of Estar
Estar describes how something tastes.
La sopa está muy sabrosa.
(The soup tastes very good.)
La sopa está sabrosa.
8. Estar is used to describe an unusual color or condition. It describes things that are
not as they are intended to be.
Los plátanos están negros.
(The bananas are black.)
Esta naranja está agria.
(This orange is sour.)
9. Estar is used in present progressive constructions to describe actions in progress.
Están durmiendo.
(They are sleeping.)
Estoy escribiendo una carta.
(I’m writing a letter.)
10. Estar is used with the past participle to express the result of a previous action.
La puerta está cerrada.
(The door is closed.) (Someone closed it.)
La tarea está hecha.
(The homework is done.) (I did it.)
El libro está dividido en cinco capítulos.
(The book is divided into five chapters.) (The author did this.)
La puerta está cerrada.
11. Estar can be used to express “to suit” and “to fit”.
Ese vestido te está muy bien.
(That dress suits you.)
El abrigo le está bien.
(The coat fits him well.)
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.
Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) and www.freedigitalphotos.net. Acknowledgements-page 6.

4. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 4 of 6
The Uses of Estar
12. Many adjectives can be used with either estar or ser. The meaning changes
depending on the verb you choose.
Estar Ser
abierto open frank
aburrido bored boring
alegre happy lighthearted
alto in a high position tall, high
atento attentive courteous
bajo in a low position short, low
borracho drunk drunkard
bueno well (health) good (character)
callado silent taciturn
cansado tired tiresome
cerrado closed narrow-minded
cierto true sure
consciente conscious (awake) aware
despierto awake alert, sharp
enfermo unwell invalid
interesado interested self-seeking
limpio clean well-groomed
listo ready clever
loco frantic silly (character)
mal sick (health) bad (character)
molesto bothered annoying
nuevo unused newly-made
muerto dead killed in action
orgulloso proud of someone/something proud (derogatory)
preparado ready, prepared learned
rico delicious rich
seguro assured, confident safe, reliable
simpático libkable a the present time likeable (character)
triste sad dull
verde not ripe green
violento embarrassed violent
vivo alive lively
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.
Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) and www.freedigitalphotos.net. Acknowledgements-page 6.

5. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 5 of 6
The Uses of Estar
Write a sentence that describes each picture.
1.___________________________________________________________________________________
2.___________________________________________________________________________________
3.___________________________________________________________________________________
4.___________________________________________________________________________________
Unscramble these sentences.
1. niños/guapísimos/cumpleaños/de/van/fiesta/a/están/porque/una/Los/hoy
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. y/enamorados/están/Julieta/Romeo
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. mucho/porque/trabajó/Miguel/ayer/cansado/está
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. del/Este/el/río/entre/Nueva York/está/del/río/Norte/y/el
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. está/La/taza /rota
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.
Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) and www.freedigitalphotos.net. Acknowledgements-page 6.

6. English-Spanish Helpful Handouts Page 6 of 6
The Uses of Estar
Write the Spanish translation of the words in parentheses.
1. (The supermarket is closed,) pero las tiendas están abiertas. __________________________
2. (The boy is studying) su lección. ____________________________________________________
3. (He has to be) en la oficina muy temprano. __________________________________________
4. (When the windows are closed,) el cuarto no está frio. _______________________________
5. (That house is) bien situada. _______________________________________________________
6. (This apple is) agria. ______________________________________________________________
7. (Who is) gritando? ________________________________________________________________
8. (My mother is) en el salón. ________________________________________________________
9. (This shirt is)rota. _________________________________________________________________
10. (On which street is) su casa? ______________________________________________________
Translate these sentences into Spanish.
1. I’m lost. __________________________________________________________________________
2. You’re wrong. ____________________________________________________________________
3. How is Rodrigo? __________________________________________________________________
4. It’s snowing. _____________________________________________________________________
5. She’s standing. ___________________________________________________________________
6. María looks pale. _________________________________________________________________
Photo Acknowledgements:
Flickr - West Zest, Mr. Thomas, makelessnoise, Augafel, stevenpolo, Neosnaps
Free Digital Photos - Arvind Balaraman, graur razvan ionut, Francesco Marino
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson.
Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) and www.freedigitalphotos.net. Acknowledgements-page 6.