Learn Spanish (Latin America): Yo no estoy listo.

In Spanish, both ser and estar mean "to be". We use estar (like estoy) for temporary physical or mental states. Since being "ready" is a temporary condition, we use estoy.

Would a woman say this sentence exactly the same way?

No! Adjectives in Spanish change their ending to match the gender of the person they describe. If a man is speaking, he says listo. If a woman is speaking, she would change the "o" to an "a" and say Yo no estoy lista.

What happens if I accidentally say Yo no soy listo?

It completely changes the meaning! The word listo means "ready" when used with the verb estar. But if you use it with ser (like soy), it describes a more permanent personality trait and means "smart" or "clever". So, No soy listo means "I am not smart."

Why does the word no come before the verb?

In Spanish, to make a sentence negative, the word no must go immediately before the verb. So "I am not" is phrased as "I not am" (Yo no estoy).

Do I have to include the word ?