Today we’ll be talking about the verb ESTAR, which is used, among other things, to talk about location. In English we the verb TO BE in such cases, have a look:
They ARE in Toronto.
The same verb is used in English to describe things and people:
They ARE nice.
But in Spanish it isn’t the case. Whereas we use the verb SER to describe things and people, we don’t use this verb to talk about location. In the later case we use the verb ESTAR.
Conjugation
So, let’s start with the conjugation of the verb ESTAR. The full conjugation in the present indicative looks like this:
| ESTAR – TO BE | |||
| yo | estoy | I | am |
| tú | estás | you (informal) | are |
| él / ella | está | he / she / it | is |
| usted | está | you (formal) | are |
| nosotros / nosotras | estamos | we | are |
| vosotros / vosotras | estáis | you (all, informal) | are |
| ellos / ellas | están | they | are |
| ustedes | están | you (all, formal) | are |
Asking about Location
To ask about location we use the adverb WHERE, which in Spanish is DÓNDE. Here are some examples:
| ¿Dónde está el libro? | Where is the book? |
| ¿Dónde están los gatos? | Where are the cats? |
| ¿Dónde estás? | Where are you? |
| ¿Dónde estáis, amigos? | Where are you, friends? |
Using the Verb ESTAR to Describe Location
When we answer questions like this, we usually use prepositions. Have a look at the following examples:
| El libro está sobre la mesa. | The book is on the table. |
| Los gatos están bajo la silla. | The cats are under the chair. |
| Vosotros estáis en la clase. | You are in the classroom. |
| Yo estoy en la habitación. | I´m in the room. |
| Nosotros estamos en la tienda. | We are in the store. |
| Estás en Madrid. | You are in Madrid. |
As you can see, this is pretty simple. A common mistake is to use the verb SER to talk about location instead of ESTAR, so just keep in mind that these two verbs in Spanish are used for different purposes. The verb ESTAR is used for some other purposes too, but this is a different topic.