Breakdown of Estoy preparado para el examen.
estar
to be (location/state)
para
for
el examen
the exam
preparado
prepared, ready (= listo)
Questions & Answers about Estoy preparado para el examen.
Why do we use estoy instead of soy in this sentence?
In Spanish, we use estar with a past participle to describe a resulting state. You finished studying, and now you are in the state of being ready. If you used soy, it would sound like a permanent personality trait, which doesn't fit the context of being ready for an exam.
How is this different from the passive voice we just learned?
The passive voice uses ser + past participle to focus on an action happening to a subject. For example, El examen es preparado por el profesor (The exam is prepared by the teacher). But here, nobody is performing an action on you; you are just describing your current status, so we use estar.
Does preparado change depending on who is speaking?
Yes. When you use estar with a past participle to describe a state, the past participle acts just like a regular adjective. It must match the gender and number of the subject. If a female student is speaking, she would say Estoy preparada. If a group of students is speaking, it would be Estamos preparados.
Why is it para el examen and not por el examen?
The preposition para is used here because it shows purpose or destination. The exam is the target or goal that you are getting ready for. You would use por for causes or reasons, rather than goals.