In this lesson you will learn about the irregular Spanish verb estar. Let's see how to conjugate it, and then see it's meaning by looking at some example sentences.

Conjugations of ser	Singular	Plural
First person	estoy	estamos
Second person	estás	estáis
Third person	está	están

Estar has a meaning close to ser, but is used in different situations.

When talking about characteristics of persons or things, estar is often used for things that are of a more temporary nature than ser. For example, ser is used to describe someone as a drunkard, a not so temporary characteristic, whereas estar is used to describe someone as being drunk.

For the same reason, ser is used to describe someone's origin, occupation, religious or political affiliation, relations between people, and character.

Estar is normally used to describe the location of people and things, even when they are permanent locations, whereas ser is used to describe the location of events.

Sentences with estar	Uses
Estoy en el jardín. I am in the garden.	location of person
Estás nerviosa hoy. You are nervous today.	temporary state of person
Buenos Aires está en Argentina. Buenos Aires is in Argentina.	location of geographic entity
El café está caliente. The coffee is hot.	temporary state of object
Estamos contentos con el resultado. We are happy with the result.	temporary state of person
Estáis borrachas. You are drunk.	temporary state of person
Las bicicletas están en la casa. The bicyles are in the house.	location of object

Sentences with ser	Uses
Soy estudiante. I am a student.	long-lasting property (occupation)
Eres una mona. You are a monkey.	long-lasting property
La fiesta es en la casa. The party is in the house.	location of event
Hoy es jueves. Today is Thursday.	telling time
Somos amigos. We are friends.	relation between people
Sois borrachas. You are drunkards.	long-lasting property
Son manzanas. They are apples..	long-lasting property

Spanish

Lesson 5: The present tense in -er 1