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Lingolex - home page http://lingolex.com/spanish.htm
When "estar" is obligatory
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Below are the instances when we have to use "estar" |
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with talking about place and location | |
| ¿dónde está el cine? |
where is the cinema? |
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| estuve en la playa ayer | I was at the beach yesterday. | |
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with an adjective to express a temporary or unusual quality | |
| Another way of saying this is: To express a quality or state seen by the speaker as subject to change or different from expected | ||
| la sopa está un poco fría |
the soup is a bit cold |
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| María está muy guapa hoy | María is looking very pretty today | |
| Hoy estoy de mal humor | I am in a bad mood today | |
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before past participles describing the result of an action | |
| Note: the participle has to agree in gender and number with the noun. | ||
| el restaurante está abierto |
The restaurant is open |
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| la ventana está cerrada | the window is closed | |
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when asking someone how they are | |
| ¿cómo estás? |
How are you? |
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| estoy muy bien | I am very well | |
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with the present continuous | |
| Carmen está bailando |
Carmen is dancing |
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| estábamos escuchando la radio | we were listening to the radio | |