Recursio
Lesson 12. Where are you and how are you?
10 words in this lesson
Tap 🔊 and repeat out loud. These words come back in the dialogue and the exercises below.
estar: location and state
The second “to be”: estar
Spanish has two verbs for “to be”: ser (lessons 4 and 6) and estar. Here are the forms of estar:
| Who | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | estoy |
| tú | estás |
| él / ella / usted | está |
| nosotros / nosotras | estamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | estáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | están |
Watch the accent marks: estás, está, estáis, están. In these forms the stress falls on the á.
Where: estar + place
For where a person or thing is, use estar: Estoy en casa. Nora está en el centro. ¿Estás en la oficina?
En casa means “at home,” with no article. Learn it as a set phrase.
How: estar + state
For how someone feels or what state something is in, also use estar: Estoy cansado. ¿Estás enferma? El bar está cerrado. La oficina está abierta.
English uses “be” for all of this; Spanish picks estar. The adjective still agrees, as in lesson 11: Javier says estoy cansado, Lucía says estoy cansada, and two women say estamos contentas.
When the same adjective can go with ser or with estar is the topic of lesson 13.
El bar is the neighborhood café where Javier works. In Spain, you can stop at a bar for coffee or something to eat.
El bar in Spain is less about nightlife than the English word suggests: it’s the local café where people have coffee and a bite to eat. That’s where Javier works.
Estoy en casa. — I'm at home.
Nora está en el centro. — Nora is downtown.
¿Estás cansada? — Are you tired?
El bar está cerrado. — The bar is closed.
Estamos contentos. — We're in a good mood.
Dialogue
Listen to each line and repeat it. Try to understand it before you look at the translation.
Javier Hola, Lucía. ¿Estás en casa? Hi, Lucía. Are you at home?
Lucía No, Nora y yo estamos en el centro. ¿Y tú? No, Nora and I are downtown. And you?
Javier Estoy en casa. El bar está cerrado hoy. I'm at home. The bar is closed today.
Lucía ¿Estás enfermo? Are you sick?
Javier No, estoy un poco cansado. ¿Y vosotras? No, I'm a little tired. And you two?
Lucía Estamos contentas. We're happy.
Check yourself
Listen. What did you hear?
1. How do you say “I'm at home”?
2. How do you ask a female friend “Are you tired?”
3. How do you say “The bar is closed”?
4. How do you say “We're downtown”?
Match each word with its translation
Build the sentence: “I'm at home”
Build the question: “Are you tired?” (to a woman)
What you can do now
- Say where you are: Estoy en casa. Estamos en el centro.
- Say how you feel: Estoy cansado. Estoy contenta.
- Ask someone: ¿Estás cansada? ¿Estás en casa?
- Say whether a place is open or closed: El bar está cerrado.
Key phrases of the lesson:
Estoy en casa.
¿Estás cansada?
El bar está cerrado.
Day 12 of 100. Next up: the following lesson.
Lesson 13. What someone is like and how they are now →The course is the first step. Next comes the Recursio app: short daily practice with spaced review.