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.