ESTAR PRETERITE ENDINGS HOW TO
ESTAR PRETERITE ENDINGS PRO
ESTAR PRETERITE ENDINGS PLUS

'I used to go' denotes that something used to occur before but now it doesn't. We don't know when they stopped eating dinner, but in this sentence it doesn't matter because we are more focused on the fact that they were eating.Īnother example of the imperfect in English might be: Here, we know that the action of eating dinner took place in the past, but it does not have a definite beginning or end, nor does it matter for the sentence's purpose.

ESTAR PRETERITE ENDINGS PLUS

Using 'were' plus the gerund denotes the imperfect past in English. The imperfect is used to denote an action that took place in the past, but the specifics of the timeframe are left up in the air.

Los profesores estuvieron de guardia – The teachers were on (playground) duty.

Estuvo de vacaciones en julio – He was on vacation in July.

So all of these expressions can use this irregular verb in the preterite tense, or in just about any other tense. It’s always a great idea to remember some common expressions so you can sound like a native! So, it’s a small difference – but nonetheless, an important one to understand! Expressions with estarĮstar is a fairly common verb, and like any other Spanish verb like this – you’ll find it’s used in a lot of Spanish expressions. However, using estar + gerund highlights the ongoing connotation. The reason this is less frequently used is because oftentimes, you’ll just use the second verb (the gerund one) in the preterite tense instead.

Ayer estuvieron corriendo durante 3 horas – Yesterday, they were running for 3 hours.

When you use estar in the preterite tense followed by a gerund, you can express an ongoing action for a specific period of time. This last use of estar is definitely the least common – but it’s important to know that it’s completely possible. – We were in Lisbon for a week.Īs you can see, in both of these – you’re talking about where you were.

¿ Dónde estuviste anoche ? – Where were you last night?.

Just make sure that usually, in order to use the estar preterite tense conjugation, you’ll probably need some sort of time marker – otherwise, you might need to use the imperfect. In other words, you’re describing where something was. The first time you can use estar is when you’re referring to a specific location.

Let’s look at some examples of the different ways you can use estar in the preterite tense. But we’ll also see some expressions where you can use estar in Spanish in ways you might not have expected. In general, estar means “to be”, but only in certain situations. Let’s look at specific ways to use estar in the preterite tense.

ESTAR PRETERITE ENDINGS HOW TO

So Spanish grammar doesn’t always need to be so difficult! How to use Estar in the preterite tense The great news is that by learning this rule for one conjugation, you’re learning something you can apply to practically any verb. So since we say él / ella estuvo, we use that same estuv- root to conjugate estar in the past subjunctive. What’s the first thing you noticed? All past subjunctive forms have the same stem from the third-person singular preterite. And later on, you can focus on the meaning. Since the preterite and the subjunctive share a similar root, it’ll save you some struggling later on if you work on both at the same time.Įven if you don’t think you’re ready to take on this tricky grammar concept just yet, it’s worth the effort to take a few moments to memorize this past tense conjugation. There’s an obvious connection between the pretérito perfecto simple and the past subjunctive.

ESTAR PRETERITE ENDINGS PRO

But don’t worry! Little by little, you’ll turn into a pro at the language.īefore we move on to the uses of estar, we should do another review of the past subjunctive.

There are a lot more factors (and exceptions) that play into this confusing differentiation, but it’s a good guideline if you’re a beginner. This means things like emotions, feelings, and current location. In a general sense – you can consider estar to describe temporary conditions, locations, or states. Since they both mean “to be”, it can be a bit complicated sometimes. Of course, the main problem that Spanish learners come across is understanding how to differentiate the verb estar from ser. The Spanish verb estar simply means “to be”. So in this article, we’ll take the opportunity to review how to use the verb estar in Spanish, as well as master its conjugation in the preterite. Luckily, it’s one of the easier verbs to conjugate, but it still takes a bit of time and effort to get it down completely. Today we’re looking at how to conjugate the estar preterite tense. As you probably noticed by now, if you want to become a master at conjugation, eventually you just have to memorize each irregular verb in the preterite tense.

Estar preterite endings