Estar is the copular verb used for many states, resultant positions, continued presence, and the focused progressive estar + gerund. English uses a single verb “be,” so an English-speaking learner has two tasks at once: learning an irregular paradigm and learning where Catalan selects estar rather than ser. This page supplies the complete paradigm and the constructions that make those forms useful.
The irregularity is organized, not random. Present estic, subjunctive estigui, synthetic past estigué, and imperative estigues share a velar extension; imperfect estava, future estaré, and conditional estaria use the transparent est- or estar- base.
Nonfinite forms
| Form | Catalan | English guide |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | estar | to be; to stay |
| Perfect infinitive | haver estat | to have been |
| Gerund | estant | being; staying |
| Perfect gerund | havent estat | having been |
| Participle | estat; estada, estats, estades | been; stayed |
The participle estat is identical to the most general participle of ser. Thus he estat tranquil may be understood through estar (“I have been calm”), while he estat el secretari is ser (“I have been the secretary”). The complement, not the participle itself, identifies the verb. The reference paradigm includes estada, estats, and estades, but in the compound tenses illustrated here the participle is invariable: elles han estat tranquil·les.
Indicative: simple and periphrastic tenses
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | estic | estàs | està | estem | esteu | estan |
| Imperfect | estava | estaves | estava | estàvem | estàveu | estaven |
| Periphrastic past | vaig estar | vas estar | va estar | vam estar | vau estar | van estar |
| Simple past | estiguí | estigueres | estigué | estiguérem | estiguéreu | estigueren |
| Future | estaré | estaràs | estarà | estarem | estareu | estaran |
| Conditional | estaria | estaries | estaria | estaríem | estaríeu | estarien |
The accents in estàs and està mark final stress; estàvem and estàveu mark antepenultimate stress. Do not extend the present pattern into nosaltres and vosaltres: the forms are estem, esteu, not estiguem, estigueu in an indicative statement. Those latter forms belong to the subjunctive and imperative.
The everyday completed past is periphrastic: vaig estar, vas estar.... The synthetic series in estigu- is chiefly (formal/literary) in much Central usage and remains a living narrative option in some communities (regional: Valencian / Balearic). Future and conditional are regular once the whole infinitive is retained.
Avui estic afònica i faré la reunió per videotrucada.
Today I have lost my voice, so I'll hold the meeting by video call.
Durant l'estiu estàvem de guàrdia un cap de setmana sí i un no.
During the summer we were on call every other weekend.
Els tècnics van estar tres hores revisant la instal·lació.
The technicians spent three hours checking the installation.
El pacient estigué conscient durant tot el trasllat.
The patient remained conscious throughout the transfer. (formal)
The last examples show a core feature of estar: it profiles a state or continued presence over an interval. Duration is especially natural with estar: estar dues hores fora, estar tot el dia ocupat. A bare answer to “where is it?” traditionally uses ser in the Central baseline, while estar becomes natural for residence, work, fixed/resultant position, or duration. Valencian and other established varieties extend ordinary locative estar further (regional).
Indicative: compound tenses
Compound forms use haver + estat. Because ser has the same participle, context determines which lexeme is intended.
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | he estat | has estat | ha estat | hem estat | heu estat | han estat |
| Pluperfect | havia estat | havies estat | havia estat | havíem estat | havíeu estat | havien estat |
| Past anterior | haguí estat | hagueres estat | hagué estat | haguérem estat | haguéreu estat | hagueren estat |
| Future perfect | hauré estat | hauràs estat | haurà estat | haurem estat | haureu estat | hauran estat |
| Conditional perfect | hauria estat | hauries estat | hauria estat | hauríem estat | hauríeu estat | haurien estat |
The past anterior is mostly (formal/literary). A periphrastic past anterior (vaig haver estat, vas haver estat, va haver estat, vam haver estat, vau haver estat, van haver estat) also exists but is infrequent. Do not place an adjective or pronoun between auxiliary and participle: hi he estat molt bé, not he molt bé estat.
Aquesta setmana hem estat molt pendents de l'evolució del riu.
This week we have closely monitored the river's evolution.
Hauria estat més tranquil·la si m'ho haguessis explicat abans.
I would have been calmer if you had explained it to me earlier.
Subjunctive: simple and compound
| Tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | estigui | estiguis | estigui | estiguem | estigueu | estiguin |
| Imperfect | estigués | estiguessis | estigués | estiguéssim | estiguéssiu | estiguessin |
| Present perfect | hagi estat | hagis estat | hagi estat | hàgim estat | hàgiu estat | hagin estat |
| Pluperfect | hagués estat | haguessis estat | hagués estat | haguéssim estat | haguéssiu estat | haguessin estat |
All these simple subjunctive forms keep the velar stem estigu-. Nonvelar forms such as estés and estéssim are not accepted in the general standard. The mood is chosen by the larger clause: Sé que està bé asserts a state, while Espero que estigui bé presents it as hoped for rather than established.
Three further periphrastic rows complete the reference system. They occur with restricted (regional/formal) distribution; most everyday speakers use the ordinary perfect or imperfect according to time and viewpoint.
| Periphrastic tense | jo | tu | ell / ella / vostè | nosaltres | vosaltres | ells / elles / vostès |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative past anterior | vaig haver estat | vas haver estat | va haver estat | vam haver estat | vau haver estat | van haver estat |
| Subjunctive past | vagi estar | vagis estar | vagi estar | vàgim estar | vàgiu estar | vagin estar |
| Subjunctive past anterior | vagi haver estat | vagis haver estat | vagi haver estat | vàgim haver estat | vàgiu haver estat | vagin haver estat |
Convé que estigueu disponibles fins que acabi l'escrutini.
You should remain available until the count is over.
Si haguessin estat més atents, haurien vist el senyal.
If they had been more attentive, they would have seen the sign.
Imperative and the pronominal verb estar-se
| Addressee | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | estigues | no estiguis |
| vostè | estigui | no estigui |
| nosaltres | estiguem | no estiguem |
| vosaltres | estigueu | no estigueu |
| vostès | estiguin | no estiguin |
The plural imperatives are estiguem and estigueu, not indicative estem and esteu. Affirmative commands attach weak pronouns (estigueu-vos quiets); negative commands place them before the verb (no us estigueu aquí).
Unlike plain estar, estar-se is a genuine pronominal citation. It can mean “stay/remain/live” (m'estic a casa) or, with de + infinitive, “refrain from” (no em puc estar de riure). Dropping se may alter or destroy that reading. The pronoun changes with the subject: m'estic, t'estàs, s'està, ens estem, us esteu, s'estan.
—Us estareu al refugi fins demà? —Sí, ens hi estarem si continua nevant.
—Will you stay at the shelter until tomorrow? —Yes, we'll stay there if it keeps snowing.
No me'n puc estar: sempre miro les postres abans de demanar.
I can't help it: I always look at the desserts before ordering.
Estigueu-vos darrere la línia groga fins que s'obrin les portes.
Stay behind the yellow line until the doors open.
High-frequency constructions and government
The progressive estar + gerund highlights an action in progress: estic redactant l'informe. Catalan uses it less mechanically than English; an ordinary present often suffices for a current action. Estar de guàrdia, estar d'acord amb, estar a punt de, and estar per + infinitive are characteristic collocations. Their prepositions are lexical: the standard expression is estar d'acord amb algú, not a word-for-word copy of English “agree with” or Spanish estar de acuerdo con.
Resultant states favor estar: la porta està tancada presents the door's state after closing. Classification favors ser: la porta és metàl·lica. Event location always uses ser: la xerrada és a l'auditori. Consult adjectives with ser and estar for changes in viewpoint and meaning.
(Regional: Balearic) present forms commonly include estam and estau for first- and second-person plural. (Regional: Valencian) standard subjunctive has estiga, estigues, estiga, estiguem, estigueu, estiguen and also permits the imperfect series estiguera.... These variants are internally consistent; do not mix a regional first-person with an unrelated paradigm at random.
Common Mistakes
❌ Nosaltres estiguem cansats després del viatge.
Incorrect in a statement—estiguem is subjunctive or imperative, not present indicative.
✅ Nosaltres estem cansats després del viatge.
We are tired after the journey.
❌ No esteu tan a prop de la vora!
Incorrect as a negative command—the imperative uses present-subjunctive morphology.
✅ No estigueu tan a prop de la vora!
Don't stand so close to the edge!
❌ Estic d'acord de la teva proposta.
Incorrect—the fixed construction is estar d'acord amb.
✅ Estic d'acord amb la teva proposta.
I agree with your proposal.
❌ La conferència estarà a la sala petita.
Incorrect for neutral event location—Catalan locates an event with ser.
✅ La conferència serà a la sala petita.
The lecture will be in the small room.
❌ M'estic molt cansat aquest vespre.
Incorrect—the pronominal verb estar-se means stay/remain or refrain, not simply be in a state.
✅ Estic molt cansat aquest vespre.
I'm very tired this evening.
Key Takeaways
Learn estic for the present, estava for the imperfect, estigu- for the synthetic past and both subjunctives, and estat for compound forms. Distinguish indicative estem/esteu from subjunctive or imperative estiguem/estigueu. Use plain estar for states, results, durative presence, and focused progressives; preserve the pronoun when the intended lexeme is estar-se. Regional estam/estau and estiga/estiguen are standard within their own systems.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Present of EstarA1 — Use estic, estàs, està, estem, esteu, and estan for states, results, durative locations, and focused ongoing actions.
- Subjunctive of Ser, Estar, and HaverB1 — Use sigui, estigui, and hagi accurately as copulas, an auxiliary, and the impersonal existential hi hagi.
- Ser versus EstarA2 — Choose ser or estar by distinguishing identity, classification, neutral location, events, current state, and resulting condition.
- Adjectives with Ser and EstarB1 — Choose ser for characterization and estar for attained states, while recognizing adjectives whose meaning changes with the copula.
- Simple Present or Estar plus GerundA2 — Choose between the neutral Catalan simple present and estar plus gerund when an action is unfolding now or over a limited period.
- Conjugation of serA1 — Complete contemporary conjugation of ser, including its suppletive stems, compound forms, imperatives, regional variants, and core uses for identity and classification.