Questions & Answers about Estoy en la tercera página del libro verde.
Why is it estoy and not soy?
Spanish uses estar (estoy) for:
- Location: where someone or something is
- Temporary states / positions: sitting, lying, on a page, etc.
Being “on page 3” is treated as a location/position, so you use estar:
Ser (soy) is not used for physical location like this. You’d use soy for identity or permanent characteristics:
- Soy profesor. = I am a teacher.
- Soy alto. = I am tall.
So soy en la tercera página is incorrect in Spanish.
Can I drop the yo and just say Estoy en la tercera página del libro verde?
Yes, and in fact that’s the normal way to say it.
Spanish usually omits subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- Yo estoy en la tercera página… → grammatically correct, but often sounds emphatic, like “I am on the third page (not someone else).”
- Estoy en la tercera página… → neutral and most common.
So the sentence as given, without yo, is perfectly natural.
Why is it en for “on” the page, instead of something like sobre?