Breakdown of ¿Estás en el supermercado o en el banco?
o
or
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
estar
to be (location/state)
el supermercado
the supermarket
el banco
the bank
Questions & Answers about ¿Estás en el supermercado o en el banco?
Does en mean 'in' or 'at' here?
It can mean both! In Spanish, the preposition en is used to indicate general location, so it covers both of those English words. You do not have to worry about choosing between them; en el supermercado translates perfectly to both 'in the supermarket' and 'at the supermarket'.
Why do we use estás instead of eres for 'are you'?
Both verbs mean 'to be', but we use estar (the verb estás belongs to) whenever we talk about physical location. A good rule to remember at this level is that for locations, whether temporary like a person or permanent like a building, you should always use estar.
Do I really need to repeat en before el banco?
Why is the word for 'you' missing from the Spanish sentence?
In Spanish, the verb ending usually tells you exactly who the subject is. The -s ending in estás specifically matches tú (informal you). Because of this, you do not need to include the word tú, though you could add it at the start for emphasis.
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