Breakdown of Estuve en el mostrador.
en
in / on / at
estar
to be (location/state)
el mostrador
the counter
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Questions & Answers about Estuve en el mostrador.
How do I conjugate estar in this past tense? Is it regular?
Estar is highly irregular in the preterite tense. Instead of using regular past tense endings, its base changes to estuv- (this is called a 'u' stem). The "yo" (I) form adds an -e to make estuve. The other forms also use this special stem: estuviste (you were), estuvo (he/she/you formal were), and so on.
Why is the word for "I was" estuve here instead of estaba?
Both mean "I was", but they are used differently. Estuve is the preterite tense, which is used for completed events with a clear beginning and end. Using estuve here implies you were at the counter for a specific, finished period of time (like waiting to be served and then leaving). If you just wanted to describe the background scene (like "I was at the counter when the phone rang"), you would use the imperfect tense estaba.
Why does the Spanish sentence use en instead of a specific word for "at"?
In English, we make strict differences between "in", "on", and "at". In Spanish, the word en does the heavy lifting for all three of these! When you are physically located at a place, like being "at" a counter, en is exactly the right word to use.
Can I use mostrador for the counter in my kitchen?